The Cardinal Newman Cardinals will face off against the Pleasant Valley Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Cardinal Newman is coming into the contest hot, having won their last 16 games.
Cardinal Newman is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They walked away with a 5-1 win over Calaveras. That's two games straight that the Cardinals have won by exactly four runs.
Callie Howard
| 06/03/25 vs Calaveras | 11 |
| 05/31/25 vs Carondelet | 10 |
| 05/27/25 vs Benicia | 13 |
| 05/23/25 vs Newark Memorial | 9 |
| 05/15/25 vs Windsor | 10 |
Callie Howard spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on two hits and racked up 11 Ks. She has been consistent: she hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Andrea Mansbery, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Izzie Kunimune, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, Pleasant Valley got themselves on the board against Carondelet on Tuesday, but Carondelet never followed suit. They won by a run and slipped past the Cougars 1-0.
The result came thanks to Alissa Snipes's shutout, as she gave up just a hit and racked up eight Ks.
At the plate, Pleasant Valley saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kodi Aisthorpe, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one double.
Pleasant Valley hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Carondelet struck out eight times.
Pleasant Valley has been performing well recently as they've won 16 of their last 19 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-8-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for Cardinal Newman, they pushed their record up to 23-6 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Cardinal Newman hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Pleasant Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
