Softball Preview: Modesto Panthers vs. Gregori Jaguars
Modesto is 2-8 against Gregori since March of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Modesto Panthers will be playing at home against the Gregori Jaguars at 4:00 p.m. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Modesto was able to grind out a solid win over Pitman, taking the game 7-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Modesto.
Angelica Arellano spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than six innings in five consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Modesto let Aaliyah Williams and Nichole Aguirre loose on the outfield. Williams scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Aguirre scored a run while going 1-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Alyssa Ramirez, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Gregori had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.6 runs), and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. They walked away with a 7-4 victory over the Eagles. Seven seems to be a good number for Gregori as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Kailey Estes was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out 14 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits (and not a single walk). Estes was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kylee Huff, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Ariana Aguirre, who went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
Modesto's victory bumped their record up to 6-7. As for Gregori, they are on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Modesto has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Gregori struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Modesto suffered a grim 6-0 defeat to Gregori when the teams last played on April 11th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Estes, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out seven over six innings pitched. Now that Modesto knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
