Softball Preview: Pioneer Valley Panthers vs. Templeton Eagles
After two games on the road, Pioneer Valley is heading back home. They will take on the Templeton Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Pioneer Valley and Templeton are at an even 3-3 over their past six head-to-heads.
Pioneer Valley's hitters might be in the hot seat on Tuesday considering what happened against Atascadero on Friday. They lost 6-0 to the Greyhounds.
Ciena Acosta was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and five unearned) runs off four hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in ten consecutive pitching appearances.
Meanwhile, Templeton had to endure a nine-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They had just enough and edged Atascadero out 9-8.
Templeton got a big performance out of Jessie Branch, who went 4-for-4 with three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Bailey Fiorenza, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Pioneer Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 8-11. As for Templeton, their win ended a six-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 4-12.
Templeton's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday. Pioneer Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Templeton, though, as they've been averaging only 3. Will Pioneer Valley keep running through batters, or will Templeton buck the trend?
Pioneer Valley beat Templeton 8-5 in their previous meeting on April 12th. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Branch, who fired off two home runs and four RBI while going 3-for-4. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Pioneer Valley still be able to contain Branch? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
