Softball Preview: Oakdale Mustangs vs. Manteca Buffaloes
Oakdale is 10-0 against Manteca since April of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Oakdale Mustangs will head out on the road to square off against the Manteca Buffaloes at 4:00 p.m. Both teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Oakdale can now show off seven landslide victories after their most recent game on Tuesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Kimball a 10-0 shutout. The high-scoring effort was just what Oakdale needed considering they were shutout in their previous match.
The team relied heavily on Presley Barnes, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Bailey Peterson, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Manteca came tearing into Tuesday's contest with eight straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.1 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Timberwolves 7-0.
Maleiah Garza and Sienna Lowery did most of the damage at the plate: Garza went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and a double, while Lowery scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Na'ima Calderon, who went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Oakdale's win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-4. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs per game. As for Manteca, their victory bumped their record up to 11-2.
Everything went Oakdale's way against Manteca in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 as Oakdale made off with a 9-2 win. Will Oakdale repeat their success, or does Manteca have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
