Softball Preview: Vintage Crushers vs. Petaluma Trojans
The Vintage Crushers will be playing at home against the Petaluma Trojans at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Vintage is hoping to deliver their fans another blowout on Friday, just like they did against American Canyon (and have done all season long). Everything went Vintage's way against American Canyon on Wednesday as Vintage made off with a 12-4 victory.
Malina Viruet made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She tossed four innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. Viruet was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Cienna Alvarez was incredible, going 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Mia Griffith, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Petaluma scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Wednesday. They never let Justin-Siena onto the board and left with a 22-0 win. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Like Vintage, Petaluma also got a great game from a two-way player: Mary Franceschi. Throwing, Franceschi pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Mya Gonzalez pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Franceschi scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI.
In other batting news, Petaluma got a massive performance out of Jess Hamilton, who scored three runs while going 4-for-4. Karlee Caldwell was another key contributor, scoring three runs while going 3-for-4.
Vintage pushed their record up to 14-4-1 with that win, which was their seventh straight on the road. As for Petaluma, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 10-12.
Friday's matchup will be a test for both team's pitchers. Vintage hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .342. However, it's not like Petaluma struggles in that department as they've averaged .315. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Vintage beat Petaluma 6-1 in their previous meeting back in April. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Petaluma's Lily Pardini, who pitched seven innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Vintage still be able to contain Pardini? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
