Softball Game Preview: Merced Bears vs. Oakdale Mustangs

Merced is 1-6 against Oakdale since March of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Merced Bears are taking a road trip to challenge the Oakdale Mustangs at 3:30 p.m. Merced's pitching crew has only allowed 1.7 runs per game this season, so Oakdale's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Oakdale will be up against a hot Merced squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. Merced came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 3-2 W against Patterson.

The team relied heavily on Lillian Gallegos, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one triple, one double, and one RBI. That RBI marked the first that she's brought in this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Bree Pimentel, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.

Meanwhile, Oakdale earned a 5-2 win over Turlock on Saturday.

Reese Donaldson was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, one triple, and one run. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. Madi Bohannon (Cal Poly) was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.

Oakdale hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Turlock struck out six times.

The victory got Oakdale back to even at 2-2. As for Merced, their record is now 4-1-2.

Merced suffered a grim 8-1 defeat to Oakdale in their previous meeting back in March of 2022. Can Merced avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.