Softball Preview: Pacific Grove Breakers vs. Carmel Padres
The Pacific Grove Breakers will head out on the road to face off against the Carmel Padres at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Pacific Grove lost a heartbreaker to Watsonville when they met back in March of 2017, and they left with a heavy heart again on Wednesday. Pacific Grove fell victim to a tough 11-3 loss at the hands of Watsonville. Pacific Grove has struggled against Watsonville recently, as their match on Wednesday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Pacific Grove saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Erin Shoemaker, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Carmel came tearing into Wednesday's game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.8 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Spartans 16-4. Carmel might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won four matchups by ten runs or more this season.
Allison Hacker made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. Hacker has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances. Hacker was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in four of her six plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ava Mangiapane, who went 5-for-6 with a home run, three runs, and four RBI. Nicole Tapson was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-5.
Pacific Grove now has a losing record at 6-7-1. As for Carmel, they now have a winning record of 7-6.
Pacific Grove skirted past Carmel 6-5 in their previous meeting back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pacific Grove since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
