Softball Game Preview: East Nicolaus Spartans vs. Mt. Shasta Bears

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Previous 3 Games

05/18/23 - Home	14-0 W
05/18/17 - Home	10-0 W
05/19/16 - Neutral	3-1 W

East Nicolaus is a perfect 3-0 against Mt. Shasta since May of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Spartans will challenge the Bears at 4:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with East Nicolaus sitting on three straight wins and Mt. Shasta on four.

East Nicolaus played against Willows on Monday and won via forfeit.

Mt. Shasta is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 victory over Hamilton.

Emily Pigoni spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in nine consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kaira Rekhi, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and one run. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged two or more in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaley Lanier, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.

East Nicolaus' win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-6. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Mt. Shasta, their win bumped their record up to 13-11-1.

Everything went East Nicolaus' way against Mt. Shasta in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, as East Nicolaus made off with a 14-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Spartans since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.