The Piner Prospectors will face off against the Piedmont Highlanders at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Piner is coming into the contest hot, having won their last eight games.
Piner will bounce into Friday's match after beating Ukiah, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Prospectors won by a run and slipped past the Wildcats 2-1. That's two games straight that the Prospectors have won by just one run.
Mialynn Membrilla spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up ten Ks.
At the plate, Piner saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ava Parra, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double. Genavieve De Mauro was another, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Piedmont rose to the challenge on Tuesday. Everything went their way against the Eagles as they made off with a 15-5 win. The result was nothing new for the Highlanders, who have now won eight games by ten runs or more so far this season.
Miya Fujimoto made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. Fujimoto was also big at the plate, getting on base in all five of her plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Samantha Ronen, who went 4-for-5 with two triples, three runs, and three RBI. Those two triples gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Angelina Wu, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
Piedmont has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.0 runs over those games. As for Piner, their win bumped their record up to 16-8.
Friday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Piner has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .477. However, it's not like Piedmont struggles in that department as they've averaged .436. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
