St. Pius X and Belen are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2018, but likely not for long. The St. Pius X Sartans will be staying on the road on Thursday to face off against the Belen Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
St. Pius X is headed into the game fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Highland with a sharp 20-1 victory on Tuesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded St. Pius X with their most commanding win of the season.
Lilee Zarate made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Zarate was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with a triple, two RBI, and a run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gabriella Casco, who fired off two home runs, six RBI, and four runs while going 4-for-4. She hasn't dropped below three hits for three straight games. Aurora Green was another key contributor, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Belen entered their tilt with Valencia with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. They were the clear victor by a 21-2 margin over the Jaguars on Tuesday.
Like St. Pius X, Belen also got a great game from a two-way player: Danae Chavira. On the mound, she pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Chavira was even better at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, Araceli Franco was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs, and four RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Honey Mirabal, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with a home run, three runs, and two doubles.
St. Pius X has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. As for Belen, they pushed their record up to 14-8 with that win, which was their eighth straight on the road.
Thursday's matchup will be a test for both team's pitchers. St. Pius X hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .452. However, it's not like Belen struggles in that department as they've averaged .496. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
St. Pius X might still be hurting after the 10-3 defeat they got from Belen when the teams last played on April 2nd. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Belen's Lorissa Scott, who pitched seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. Now that St. Pius X knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
