Templeton and Pioneer Valley are an even 4-4 against one another since April of 2017, but likely not for long. The Eagles are taking a road trip to challenge the Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Templeton's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They blew past Orcutt Academy 9-0. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Eagles.
Tegan Jay
| 03/27/25 @ Orcutt Academy | 0 |
| 03/25/25 @ Atascadero | 1 |
| 03/24/25 vs Orcutt Academy | 2 |
Not much got past Tegan Jay, who gave up just five hits and racked up eight Ks to keep Orcutt Academy off the board. Jay has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Emma Kriling, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, one triple, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that she hit this season. Another player making a difference was Whitney Moore, who went 1-for-3 with four RBI and one double.
Templeton hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four strikeouts batters in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Pioneer Valley, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They came out on top against Atascadero by a score of 6-1 on Tuesday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Ciena Acosta spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up eight Ks.
At the plate, Natalia Rocha was excellent, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March of 2024.
Pioneer Valley's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-5. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.4 runs on average over those games. As for Templeton, they now have a winning record of 6-5.
Templeton came out on top in a nail-biter against Pioneer Valley in their previous meeting two weeks ago, sneaking past 1-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Eagles since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
