Softball Game Preview: El Diamante Miners vs. Redwood Rangers

The El Diamante Miners will head out on the road to challenge the Redwood Rangers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.

On Tuesday, El Diamante didn't have quite enough to beat Porterville and fell 5-4.

Meanwhile, Redwood waltzed into their game on Tuesday with four straight wins... but they left with five. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Trailblazers a 6-0 shutout. Considering the Rangers have won ten contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

The result came thanks to Jackie Ramirez's shutout, as she gave up just a hit and racked up 13 Ks.

On the hitting side, Rayah Rodriguez was excellent, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaden Lopez, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one double.

Redwood hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in six consecutive matches.

Redwood's win was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-6-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.2 runs over those games. As for El Diamante, they have been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 8-13-1 record this season.

El Diamante might still be hurting after the 12-0 defeat they got from Redwood when the teams last played back in April. Can the Miners avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.