The McClatchy Lions will head out on the road to face off against the Laguna Creek Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with McClatchy sitting on three straight victories and Laguna Creek on six.
McClatchy is hoping to deliver their fans another blowout on Friday, just like they did against Kennedy (and have done all season long). McClatchy put the hurt on Kennedy with a sharp 10-1 win on Wednesday. McClatchy's victory was all the more impressive since Kennedy was averaging only 3.8 runs allowed on the season.
Lily Arbizo was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She struck out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Arbizo was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, McClatchy let Sofia Cuellar and Anna Brereton loose on the outfield. Cuellar scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4, while Brereton scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. Brereton is trending in the right direction, as she's improved her point production for three straight games. Jocelyn Rodriguez was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Laguna Creek had just enough and edged Monterey Trail out 3-2 on Wednesday.
Sarah Hanf spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits and racked up 16 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than six innings in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Laguna Creek's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Sophia Rials, who scored a run while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Ella Lovato, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
The victory got McClatchy back to even at 7-7. As for Laguna Creek, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a massive bump to their 12-7 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. McClatchy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Laguna Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
McClatchy came up short against Laguna Creek in their previous meeting back in April, falling 6-2. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hanf, who struck out 14 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits (and only one walk). Now that McClatchy knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
