The Edison Tigers will head out on the road to face off against the Hanford West Huskies at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Edison's pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so Hanford West's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Edison is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They came out on top against Righetti by a score of 4-1.
Alexis Verduzco spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up 11 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Edison let Rubi Perez and Lauren Jones run wild. Perez got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI, while Jones went 1-for-3 with two runs and one double. That's the most runs Jones has posted since back in April.
Meanwhile, Hanford West entered their tilt with Sierra Pacific last Friday with five consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with six. They walked away with a 7-3 victory over the Golden Bears.
Hanford West also got a great performance from Rylan Montoya as she tossed 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits.
On the hitting side, Karmen Vazquez was a standout: she got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Adyson Owens, who went 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI.
Hanford West's win was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 19-6. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.9 runs over those games. As for Edison, their win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 13-11.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Edison hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Hanford West struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Edison came up short against Hanford West when the teams last played back in April of 2017, falling 12-7. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
