Softball Game Preview: Palma Chieftains vs. Aptos Mariners

The Palma Chieftains will square off against the Aptos Mariners at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Palma has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Aptos will arrive with three straight victories.

Palma came up short against Alisal two weeks ago, falling 9-2. The contest marked the Chieftains' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Keilani Pato-Guardado spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered six earned (and three unearned) runs on ten hits and racked up nine Ks.

On the hitting side, Palma saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Krystal Navarro, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI.

Meanwhile, Aptos got the win against Santa Cruz on Thursday by a conclusive 14-2. The result was nothing new for the Mariners, who have now won five games by six runs or more so far this season.

Aptos also got a great performance from Mya Najera-White as she struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits.

At the plate, Emma Burgueno was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI, and two runs. She is on a roll when it comes to RBI, as she's now brought in three or more in each of the last three games she's played. Nova Neu was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.

Aptos was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .536. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .312 or higher in six consecutive matchups.

Aptos' win was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-4. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for Palma, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.