Softball Preview: Manteca Buffaloes vs. Central Catholic Raiders
Manteca and Central Catholic are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2018, but likely not for long. The Manteca Buffaloes will head out on the road to take on the Central Catholic Raiders at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Manteca is looking to tack on another W to their seven-game streak on the road.
If Manteca beats Central Catholic with 11 runs on Thursday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. Everything went Manteca's way against Lincoln on Monday as Manteca made off with an 11-0 win. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest victory Manteca has managed all season.
Sienna Lowery was incredible, going 4-for-5 with five RBI, two doubles, and a run. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayana Dias, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Central Catholic entered their tilt with Kimball with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 7-6 win over the Jaguars on Tuesday.
The team relied heavily on Taryn Calderon, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Jazmarie Roberts, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
Manteca's record now sits at 14-3. As for Central Catholic, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season.
Central Catholic's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Manteca has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Central Catholic, though, as they've been averaging only 3.5. Will Manteca keep running through batters, or will Central Catholic buck the trend?
Manteca skirted past Central Catholic 1-0 when the teams last played back in March. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Central Catholic's Amaya Gustavis, who didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Manteca still be able to contain Gustavis? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
