The McAllen Bulldogs will head out on the road to square off against the Lopez Lobos at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lopez is hoping to do on Thursday what Valley View couldn't on Friday: put an end to McAllen's winning streak, which now stands at five games. McAllen's pitcher stepped up to hand Valley View a 17-0 shutout.
Sarah Menard was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Menard has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive pitching appearances. Menard was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Giada Farias, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, five RBI, and three runs. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Diana Villanueva, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, a triple, and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Lopez won against Porter on Tuesday with 16 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Friday. Lopez put the hurt on Donna North with a sharp 16-0 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Lopez.
Like McAllen, Lopez also got a great game from a two-way player: Chalene Granado. On the mound, she pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Granado was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, a triple, and a run.
In other batting news, Cayley Granado was a standout: she scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Alma Lezama was another key contributor, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs, a triple, and a stolen base.
McAllen is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 18-6-1 record this season. As for Lopez, their victory was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 23-2.
Thursday's match will be a test for both team's pitchers. McAllen hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .324. However, it's not like Lopez struggles in that department as they've averaged .434. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
McAllen came up short against Lopez in their previous meeting back in March of 2018, falling 6-3. Can McAllen avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
