The Notre Dame Tigers will challenge the Menlo-Atherton Bears at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Notre Dame will be strutting in after a win while Menlo-Atherton will be coming in after a loss.
If Notre Dame beats Menlo-Atherton with 11 runs on Monday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two matchups with that exact score. The Tigers blew past Sequoia 11-1 on Friday. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 contests by six runs or more this season.
Allison Lui and Caroline Zerella were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Lui didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Zerella pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Lui has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 13 consecutive appearances. At bat, Lui went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Zerella went 1-for-2 with two runs.
In other batting news, Hailey Truong and Skylar Loo did most of the damage at the plate: Truong went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double, while Loo got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Eliana Crespin, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with three runs.
Notre Dame always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .548. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sequoia only posted an OBP of .118.
Meanwhile, Menlo-Atherton unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Friday. They lost 14-3 to Mills.
Menlo-Atherton saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Emma Loose, who went 2-for-3 with two runs.
Notre Dame pushed their record up to 17-4-1 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Menlo-Atherton, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-7.
Monday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Notre Dame hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .366. However, it's not like Menlo-Atherton struggles in that department as they've averaged .352. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Notre Dame's way against Menlo-Atherton in their previous matchup back in April, as Notre Dame made off with a 13-1 victory. Do the Tigers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bears turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
