The Placer Hillmen will square off against the Yuba City Honkers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Placer sitting on three straight victories and Yuba City on eight.
Placer made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Bear River, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Hillmen put the hurt on the Bruins with a sharp 15-4 win on Thursday. Considering the Hillmen have won nine games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Placer got a massive performance out of Paige Denniston, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Emma Herr, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four RBI and two doubles.
Placer always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .594. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bear River only posted an OBP of .381.
Meanwhile, Yuba City sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 victory over Del Campo on Tuesday.
Maddison Stead spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on four hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Tori Hernandez, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. Chloe Gonzales was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Yuba City's win was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-2-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Placer, their win bumped their record up to 10-3.
Yuba City's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Placer has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .514. It's a different story for Yuba City, though, as they've only averaged .354. Will they be able to contain Placer's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
