The Saint Mary's Panthers are taking a road trip to challenge the Piedmont Highlanders at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Saint Mary's is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.
On Wednesday, Saint Mary's didn't have quite enough to beat Salesian College Preparatory and fell 10-9. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Aoife Shen was cooking despite her team's loss, firing off two home runs, four runs, and two stolen bases while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Meilani Abraham, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, Piedmont made sure to put some runs up on the board against Hercules on Monday. The Highlanders blew past the Titans 15-3.
Miya Fujimoto made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Edie Elmquist was a standout: she got on base in two of her four plate appearances with three runs and three RBI. Those three RBI gave her a new career-high. Angelina Wu was another key player, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base.
Piedmont is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 10-7 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Saint Mary's, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-10.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Saint Mary's has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Piedmont struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.5 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Saint Mary's came up short against Piedmont in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, falling 5-1. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
