The Pacifica Mariners will head out on the road to challenge the Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Neither of those teams managed to put together many runs in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.
Pacifica took a loss when they played away from home last Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Cypress 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Mariners have posted against the Centurions since April 27, 2023.
Raquel Pineda spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on six hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Pacifica's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Mattea Stern, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI. Abigail Amezquita also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Long Beach Poly came up short against Millikan on Tuesday and fell 4-1. The Jackrabbits haven't had much luck with the Rams recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.
Pacifica is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-6 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 Long Beach Poly, their loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 8-2.
Wednesday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Pacifica hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .328. However, it's not like Long Beach Poly struggles in that department as they've averaged .470. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Pacifica got the 'W' in their previous matchup back in May of 2016 against Long Beach Poly by a conclusive 8-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mariners since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
