Thunder
| 04/27/26 @ Vacaville | 10 |
| 03/23/26 vs Vista del Lago | 10 |
| 03/20/26 @ Granite Bay | 10 |
| 03/13/26 vs Folsom | 10 |
| 03/18/26 @ Oak Ridge | 8 |
Rocklin had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Merced Bears a 6-0 shutout on Friday. Considering the Thunder have won eight contests by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Merced's batters probably weren't too happy with Payton Prior, who pitched a no hitter and racked up nine Ks (she gave up zero walks). Prior has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Brooklyn Lonteen was a standout: she went a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Renee Dragseth, who went 1-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
Rocklin hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in nine consecutive matchups.
Rocklin is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Merced, with the defeat, they broke their nine-game winning streak and moved their record to 20-4.
Looking ahead, Rocklin will challenge Del Oro at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The Golden Eagles' pitching crew has only allowed 2.2 runs per game this season, so the Thunder's hitters will have their work cut out for them. Merced does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
