Lower Lake is 0-10 against Clear Lake since May of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Lower Lake Trojans will be playing at home against the Clear Lake Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Lower Lake is hoping to deliver their fans another blowout on Friday, just like they did against Kelseyville (and have done all season long). Everything went Lower Lake's way against Kelseyville on Monday as Lower Lake made off with a 10-3 win.
Mariah Bal made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out 17 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits. Bal has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances. Bal was also big at the plate, firing off two home runs, three runs, and three RBI while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jamiya Lee-Ayers, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. Rebecca Theodorou was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-5.
Meanwhile, Clear Lake was able to grind out a solid victory over Fort Bragg on Wednesday, taking the game 12-9. With that win, Clear Lake brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Atiana Patino spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and five unearned) runs on nine hits.
On the hitting side, Clear Lake let Lindee Bingham and Amber Smart loose on the outfield. Bingham scored two runs while going 1-for-3, while Smart scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Ashlynn Cruz, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Lower Lake's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-5. As for Clear Lake, their win bumped their record up to 9-4.
Clear Lake's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Lower Lake has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .465. It's a different story for Clear Lake, though, as they've only averaged .358. Will they be able to contain Lower Lake's hitters?
Lower Lake came up short against Clear Lake in their previous matchup on April 2nd, falling 3-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Clear Lake's Liliana Cruz, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. Now that Lower Lake 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
