The San Marcos Knights will face off against the Del Norte Nighthawks at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
San Marcos is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Mission Hills just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Monday. They fell just short of the Grizzlies by a score of 9-8.
Charlotte Shelton was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over 4.2 innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Emily Lew stepped up to lead a balanced group of hitters: she went 3-for-6 with one triple, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Lily Barstad, who went 1-for-5 with one home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Del Norte waltzed into their game on Friday with four straight wins... but they left with five. Everything went their way against the Grizzlies as they made off with a 10-1 win. That's two games straight that the Nighthawks have won by exactly nine runs.
Brooklyn Giaime spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on five hits and racked up six Ks.
On the hitting side, Lainey LLamas was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Alexis Kyles was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three runs and one RBI.
Del Norte kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.2 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 9.2.
Del Norte's victory bumped their record up to 15-8-1. As for San Marcos, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-12.
San Marcos couldn't quite finish off Del Norte in their previous meeting back in April and fell 6-4. Will the Knights have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
