Softball Game Preview: Tamalpais Red Tailed Hawks vs. Pinole Valley Spartans

The Tamalpais Red Tailed Hawks will face off against the Pinole Valley Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Tamalpais 2.6, Pinole Valley 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Pinole Valley will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Tamalpais extended their winning streak to three on Wednesday. The Red Tailed Hawks' pitchers stepped up to hand Redwood a 1-0 shutout. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Red Tailed Hawks have posted since March 26th.

The home team had won the previous three meetings between Pinole Valley and El Cerrito, and Pinole Valley kept the tradition alive. The Spartans were the clear victors by an 8-2 margin over the Gauchos on Tuesday. The Spartans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by six runs or more this season.

Mckenzie Ortega made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Katie Gonzalez, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Gabriella Ornelas, who went 2-for-4 with two runs.

Tamalpais pushed their record up to 11-4 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for Pinole Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 10-6.