The East Union Lancers will face off against the Central Catholic Raiders at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: East Union has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Central Catholic will arrive with ten straight victories.
East Union lost 9-3 to Manteca on Tuesday.
East Union saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Fallon Norman, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Central Catholic's hitters rose to the challenge against a Mustangs pitching crew that boasted an average of only three runs allowed on Tuesday. The Raiders were the clear victors by a 13-3 margin over Oakdale. The Raiders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 matchups by six runs or more this season.
Stephanie Garcia looked comfortable as she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
At the plate, Jazmarie Roberts was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. She is also on a roll when it comes to RBI, as she's now brought in three or more in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Madie Harrison, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Central Catholic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 12 hits in four consecutive contests.
Central Catholic's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-4. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for East Union, they now have a losing record of 9-10.
Central Catholic's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. East Union has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Central Catholic, though, as they've been averaging only 3.9 strikeouts. Will East Union keep running through batters, or will the Raiders buck the trend?
East Union might still be hurting after the 14-4 loss they got from Central Catholic in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Lancers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
