Cloverdale is 8-2 against Lower Lake since April of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Cloverdale Eagles have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the Lower Lake Trojans at 5:00 p.m. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Cloverdale narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Fort Bragg 3-2.
Charlotte Burchett 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 seven Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in 17 consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Brianna McNulty, who scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Shasta Vlasak, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, with a playoff game on the line, Lower Lake rose to the challenge on Wednesday. They came out on top against the Gryphon by a score of 11-6. The victory was familiar territory for Lower Lake who now have three in a row.
Shaye Tubbs was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Leanna Ortega, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Cloverdale has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-4 record this season. As for Lower Lake, their win bumped their record up to 13-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cloverdale has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lower Lake struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Cloverdale took their victory against Lower Lake when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 15-9. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Lower Lake's Mariah Bal, who struck out 12 batters over 9.1 innings while giving up four earned (and five unearned) runs off eight hits. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Cloverdale still be able to contain Bal? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
