Taft is 2-8 against O'Connor since March of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Raiders will face off against the Panthers at 5:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Taft 3.7, O'Connor 2.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Taft will bounce into Thursday's match after beating Brennan, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. The Raiders narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Bears 8-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Raiders have posted since March 1st.
Alyssa Rangel
| 04/15/25 vs Brennan | 13 |
| 04/10/25 vs Sotomayor | 11 |
| 04/04/25 @ Warren | 14 |
| 03/28/25 vs Stevens | 12 |
| 03/25/25 @ Holmes | 6 |
| + 3 more games |
Alyssa Rangel spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered six earned runs on 11 hits and racked up 13 Ks. She has been consistent : she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in eight consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Lorena Ramos, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Hannah Flores, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Taft was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .464. They are 15-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, O'Connor waltzed into their contest on Tuesday with ten straight wins... but they left with 11. They blew past the Falcons 13-2. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won ten games by seven runs or more so far this season.
O'Connor let Lexie Ganter and Meiko Dominguez run wild. Ganter went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles, while Dominguez scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Amiya Jasso was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
O'Connor pushed their record up to 18-2 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Taft, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season.
Both Taft and O'Connor just can't seem to miss. The Raiders have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 11.8 hits per game. However, it's not like O'Connor struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 3.8 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Taft couldn't quite get it done against O'Connor in their previous meeting back in March as they fell 4-0. Can the Raiders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
