The Foster Falcons will head out on the road to face off against the Alief Elsik Rams at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Foster is coming into the contest hot, having won their last six games.
Alief Elsik's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Friday: Foster hadn't allowed a single run the last five times they've hit the field. The Falcons came out on top against George Ranch by a score of 5-0 on Tuesday.
Foster got a great performance from Lizzy Yeager as she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over 6.2 innings pitched. Yeager has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Jordan Tosch was excellent, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Aliyah Hernandez, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Alief Elsik made easy work of Alief Hastings on Tuesday and carried off a 13-7 win. The victory continues a trend for the Rams in their matchups with the Bears: they've now won four in a row.
Catherine Vasquez was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out ten batters over seven innings while giving up six earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. Vasquez was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gabriela Jimenez, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-5. Those three hits gave her a new career-high. Kimora Shorter also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.
Alief Elsik always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. They are 5-2 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Foster's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-6-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.4 runs on average over those games. As for Alief Elsik, their record is now 6-8.
Friday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Foster hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .332. However, it's not like Alief Elsik struggles in that department as they've averaged .453. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Foster's way against Alief Elsik in their previous matchup two weeks ago, as Foster made off with a 17-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Falcons since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
