Softball Preview: Monterey Trail Mustangs vs. River City Raiders
The Monterey Trail Mustangs will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the River City Raiders at 4:00 p.m. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Monterey Trail is hoping to deliver their fans another blowout on Friday, just like they did against McClatchy (and have done all season long). Monterey Trail blew past McClatchy 9-1.
Marissa Montano made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits while striking out eight over seven innings pitched. Montano has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances. Montano was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Alayah Duarte was incredible, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Liliana Ruelas, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, River City scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Wednesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Grant a 20-0 shutout. With that win, River City brought their scoring average up to 6.6 runs per game.
Like Monterey Trail, River City also got a great game from a two-way player: Julia Medina. On the mound, Medina pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Jessalyn Kee pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. At the plate, Medina scored two runs while going 3-for-4, while Kee scored two runs while getting on base in two of her three plate appearances.
In other batting news, Azzy Mendez was a standout: she went 2-for-2 with three runs, three RBI, and a triple. The team also got some help courtesy of Payton Burdick, who scored two runs while going 2-for-5.
Monterey Trail is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 10-8 record this season. As for River City, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-6-1.
River City's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. Monterey Trail has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for River City, though, as they've been averaging only 3.4. Will Monterey Trail keep running through batters, or will River City buck the trend? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
