Softball Game Preview: King City Mustangs vs. Carmel Padres

The King City Mustangs will head out on the road to face off against the Carmel Padres at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

King City is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against North Monterey County on Thursday as they made off with a 26-11 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Mustangs.

Meanwhile, Carmel waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They blew past the Mustangs 15-7.

Ava Mangiapane made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up four earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. Those nine strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in four of her six plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.

In other batting news, Carmel let Lily Beals and Nicole Tapson run wild. Beals went 3-for-5 with three runs, three RBI, and one double, while Tapson got on base in four of her six plate appearances with four runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Tapson has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Avery Houston, who got on base in three of her five plate appearances with three runs.

Carmel's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-4. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 16.3 runs over those games. As for King City, their record is now 12-7.

King City couldn't quite get it done against Carmel in their previous meeting back in March as they fell 19-15. Can the Mustangs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.