The Orange Vista Coyotes are taking a road trip to square off against the Poly Bears at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Orange Vista barely beat Hemet the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Coyotes never let the Bulldogs get on the board and left with an 8-0 victory on Monday. That eight run margin sets a new team best for the Coyotes this season.
Not much got past Emily Ruvalcaba, who gave up just four hits to keep Hemet off the board.
On the hitting side, Orange Vista's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Jazmine Zabala, who scored two runs while going 2-for-2. Danielle Zabala was another, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Poly). They blew past Paloma Valley 16-1 on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Bears in their matchups with the Wildcats: they've now won five in a row.
Marley Audoma made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Karly Romero was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with one home run, six RBI, and two runs. Those six RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Violet Espin, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI.
Poly kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Poly's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-6-1. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Orange Vista, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season.
Thursday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Orange Vista hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .352. However, it's not like Poly struggles in that department as they've averaged .315. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Orange Vista couldn't quite finish off Poly when the teams last played back in February of 2020 and fell 10-8. Can the Coyotes avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
