Saratoga has won three straight games at home, while Homestead has won three straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Tuesday. The Falcons will host the Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
On Friday, Saratoga made easy work of MacDonald and carried off a 12-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Falcons, who have now won ten matchups by eight runs or more so far this season.
Saira Ramakrishnan made a splash no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Saratoga got a massive performance out of Sydney Riera, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Dahlia Murthy, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Saratoga always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as MacDonald only posted an OBP of .300.
Meanwhile, Homestead never let their opponents score on Monday. They blew past Fremont 8-0.
Not much got past Mackenzie Smith, who gave up just a hit and racked up nine Ks to keep Fremont off the board.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Elisa Coyle, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Cierra Hagan, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Homestead is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.5 runs on average over those games. As for Saratoga, their win bumped their record up to 15-2.
Tuesday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Saratoga hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .352. However, it's not like Homestead struggles in that department as they've averaged .326. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
