Softball Game Preview: Saugus Centurions vs. West Ranch Wildcats

Saugus has gone 8-2 against West Ranch recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Saugus Centurions will welcome the West Ranch Wildcats at 3:15 p.m. Saugus' pitching crew has only allowed 2.3 runs per game this season, so West Ranch's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Saugus is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Valencia a 13-0 shutout on Tuesday. The Centurions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matchups by eight runs or more this season.

Taliya Mata tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits over 4.1 innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.

Bri Coe

Runs (Career)

03/18/25 vs Valencia	2
03/13/25 vs Canyon	1
03/07/25 vs Rio Rancho	1
02/22/25 vs Burbank	1

On the hitting side, Bri Coe was incredible, firing off two home runs and six RBI while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in runs (two). Jordan Shepherd was another key player, scoring three runs while going 3-for-3.

Meanwhile, West Ranch had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 3-2 W against the Cowboys. That's two games straight that the Wildcats have won by just one run.

Saugus is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-2 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. West Ranch's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-5.

Saugus took their victory against West Ranch when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 21-0. Does Saugus have another victory up their sleeve, or will West Ranch turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.