The Bernstein Dragons will face off against the Orthopaedic Vipers at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Bernstein will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Friday, then bounced right back against Roybal on Monday. The Dragons were the clear victors by a 20-10 margin over the Titans.
Meanwhile, Orthopaedic never let their opponents score on Wednesday. They blew past Annenberg 22-0. The Vipers haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
Brianna Ramirez made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 13 over five innings pitched. Those 13 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last seven games she's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Natalie Garcia, who went 3-for-4 with four stolen bases, four runs, and four RBI. She has been hot for a while, having posted at least one stolen base the last ten times she's played. Elizabeth Ajin was another key player, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with six stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI.
Orthopaedic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in six consecutive games.
Orthopaedic's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-5. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 24.3 runs over those games. As for Bernstein, their win bumped their record up to 5-8.
Bernstein suffered a grim 18-2 defeat to Orthopaedic when the teams last played back in February of 2019. Can the Dragons avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
