The Central Valley Hawks will square off against the Lathrop Spartans at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. One thing working in Central Valley's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs in their last seven contests.
Central Valley's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Johansen 15-0. The result was nothing new for the Hawks, who have now won 12 games by eight runs or more so far this season.
Brooklynn Steeley made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 16 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one double.
In other batting news, Alicia Espinoza was incredible, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with five stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Abigail Krauss, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with four stolen bases, three runs, and one double.
Central Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .538. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .341 or higher in seven consecutive contests.
Lathrop couldn't beat Livingston on Friday even though they stacked four runs on them in the third inning. The Spartans came up short against the Wolves, falling 14-4.
Lathrop saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Luz De Luna, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Central Valley is on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 14 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.1 runs over those games. As for Lathrop, their loss dropped their record down to 12-8-1.
Monday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Central Valley hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .392. However, it's not like Lathrop struggles in that department as they've averaged .350. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Central Valley's way against Lathrop when the teams last played back in April, as Central Valley made off with an 11-1 victory. Do the Hawks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Spartans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
