Oak Ridge is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Del Oro is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Oak Ridge Trojans will welcome the Del Oro Golden Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Oak Ridge 1.4, Del Oro 1.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Oak Ridge barely beat Whitney the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Oak Ridge was the clear victors by an 8-2 margin over Whitney on Wednesday. Considering the Trojans have won five matches by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Ellison Schroeder spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on seven hits and racked up 11 Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Berkeley Lampe, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Carmen Montes De Oca, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Del Oro and Rocklin (ranked 30th and 22nd in the MaxPreps national rankings respectively) squared off in a high-profile contest on Wednesday. Del Oro walked away with a 6-2 victory over Rocklin. While the Golden Eagles didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-19), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Del Oro also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Mikayla Finn gave up just two earned runs on four hits and racked up nine Ks. Finn has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than one walk in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Abby Davidson was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, two stolen bases, and two runs. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in May of 2024. Emma Johnson was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run.
Del Oro always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .515. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Rocklin only posted an OBP of .154.
Oak Ridge's win bumped their record up to 10-0. As for Del Oro, their victory bumped their record up to 11-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Oak Ridge has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Del Oro struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Oak Ridge took their win against Del Oro when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 10-0. Will Oak Ridge repeat their success, or does Del Oro have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
