West Hills is 2-8 against Santana since March of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Wolf Pack will host the Sultans at 4:00 p.m. West Hills' pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Santana's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
West Hills' pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They walked away with a 3-0 victory over El Capitan. The win continues a trend for the Wolf Pack in their matchups with the Vaqueros: they've now won seven in a row.
Not much got past Ava Goodman, who gave up just three hits and racked up eight Ks to keep El Capitan off the board. Goodman has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Katy Spargo was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one home run. Kristina Deal was another key player, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
The home team had won the previous two meetings between Santana and Granite Hills, and Santana kept the tradition alive. The Sultans put the hurt on the Eagles with a sharp 10-4 victory on Wednesday. The result was nothing new for the Sultans, who have now won seven contests by six runs or more so far this season.
The team relied heavily on Kaitlyn Ruckle, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one home run. That home run was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Hailee Powell, who got on base in both of her plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
Santana hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in five consecutive matches.
Santana has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-8 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for West Hills, they pushed their record up to 14-8-1 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. West Hills 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 Santana struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went West Hills' way against Santana when the teams last played back in April, as West Hills made off with a 15-6 win. Do the Wolf Pack have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Sultans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
