Softball Preview: Carson Colts vs. Banning Pilots
The Carson Colts will be playing in front of their home fans against the Banning Pilots at 3:15 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Carson scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Thursday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Narbonne a 24-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for Carson, who have now won six matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Giselle Pantoja looked comfortable as she struck out nine batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Carson got a massive performance out of Ruby Grajeda, who scored four runs and stole two bases while going 5-for-5. Riannah Maulupe was another key contributor, going 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, Banning made sure to put some runs up on the board against Rancho Dominguez on Thursday. Banning put the hurt on Rancho Dominguez with a sharp 15-0 victory.
Ariel Gonzalez looked comfortable as she pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (she also didn't allow any walks).
On the hitting side, Nadine Herrera was a standout: she scored two runs while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Sharon Su'e, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Carson has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-7-2 record this season. As for Banning, their win bumped their record up to 8-12.
Banning's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. Carson has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Banning, though, as they've been averaging only 3.9. Will Carson keep running through batters, or will Banning buck the trend?
Carson skirted past Banning 2-0 in their previous meeting back in March. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Banning's Rayliene Sanchez, who struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Carson still be able to contain Sanchez? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
