Los Gatos hasn't had much luck against Saint Francis recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Wildcats will square off against the Lancers at 11:00 a.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Los Gatos sitting on three straight wins and Saint Francis on eight.
On Thursday, Los Gatos earned a 5-1 victory over Homestead.
Danica DeSantis looked comfortable as she tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Los Gatos saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Grace Tucker, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI. That's the most RBI Tucker has posted since back in March. Another was Ria Sharma, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one run.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Saint Francis ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 10-3 margin over Gilroy. The Lancers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 matches by six runs or more this season.
Ava Bulanti made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Bulanti was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with one home run, two RBI, and one double.
In other pitching news, Saint Francis got a great performance from Mercedes Coller as she struck out eight batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits.
Back at the plate, Peyton Tsao was a standout: she went 3-for-5 with three RBI, one triple, and one stolen base. Jaime Oakland was another key player, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.
Saint Francis kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Gilroy only managed nine hits.
Saint Francis pushed their record up to 18-2 with the win, which was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.9 runs on average over those games. As for Los Gatos, their record is now 12-6-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Los Gatos has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Saint Francis struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Los Gatos might still be hurting after the 8-1 defeat they got from Saint Francis when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Wildcats avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
