The St. Paul Swordsmen will face off against the Alta Loma Braves at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. St. Paul is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.3 runs per game this season.
St. Paul is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They walked away with a 6-1 win over Bishop Amat.
Gianelle Napoles spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on six hits.
At the plate, Kailee Mejia was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two runs. Another player making a difference was Sunni Vasquez, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
St. Paul hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are 7-2 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Alta Loma waltzed into their contest on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. Everything went their way against the Dons as they made off with a 13-1 victory.
Donica Meyndert tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Ava Salazar, who fired off two home runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Those two home runs gave her a new career-high. Isabella Galindo was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Alta Loma pushed their record up to 13-8 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for St. Paul, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 13-14.
Saturday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. St. Paul hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .345. However, it's not like Alta Loma struggles in that department as they've averaged .322. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
