The Benicia Panthers will take on the College Park Falcons at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Benicia proved they can win big on Tuesday (they won by 17) and on Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over Alhambra. The victory continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won five in a row.
Alana Robinson spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on seven hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, Benicia's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ava Rojas, who went 1-for-3 with one triple and one run. That triple was Rojas' first of the season. Skyler Jacome was another, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
The home team had won the previous six meetings between College Park and Clayton Valley Charter, and College Park kept the tradition alive. The Falcons skirted past the Ugly Eagles 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Falcons have posted since April 10th.
College Park also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Emma Lowery gave up only one earned run on eight hits. Lowery has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Alexis Weiler was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI.
College Park is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-10-1 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for Benicia, their victory bumped their record up to 13-9.
Benicia came out on top in a nail-biter against College Park in their previous meeting back in April, sneaking past 7-6. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Falcons have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
