The Vanden Vikings will face off against the Central Catholic Raiders at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Vanden is coming into the match hot, having won their last 16 games.
Vanden is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Ponderosa as they made off with a 13-5 victory. The Vikings might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 13 games by six runs or more this season.
Isabella Cueva spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five runs (all of which were unearned) on seven hits. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Niayli Calvo was incredible, getting on base in all five of her plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. Mia Cueva also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.
Vanden always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .553. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ponderosa only posted an OBP of .355.
Meanwhile, Central Catholic put their dominant pitcher on display in the team's third consecutive shutout on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 1-0 win over Manteca. The Raiders haven't had any issues with the Buffaloes recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
Not much got past Stephanie Garcia, who gave up just four hits to keep Manteca off the board.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Taryn Calderon, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two stolen bases, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Jazmarie Roberts, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Vanden pushed their record up to 20-4 with the win, which was their 11th straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Central Catholic, their record now sits at 26-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Vanden hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Central Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Vanden couldn't quite get it done against Central Catholic in their previous matchup back in March of 2024 as they fell 9-6. Can the Vikings avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
