vs
| 05/03/24 - Home | 7-3 W |
| 04/10/24 - Away | 0-5 L |
| 05/05/23 - Away | 0-10 L |
| 03/27/23 - Home | 5-12 L |
| 05/12/22 - Home | 2-1 W |
| + 5 more games |
Merced and Atwater are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2019, but likely not for long. The Merced Bears will be playing in front of their home fans against the Atwater Falcons at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Merced will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each contest than the last.
Merced barely beat Golden Valley the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Merced's pitcher stepped up to hand Golden Valley a 7-0 shutout on Tuesday. Considering the Bears have won four games by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Haiden Priddell was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing Two bases. while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Madison Cabral, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-3. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in March of 2024. Antonia Lejarde was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Atwater was able to grind out a solid victory over Los Banos on Tuesday, taking the game 5-2. The Falcons haven't had any issues with the Tigers recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Kylie Medina spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on three hits and racked up seven Ks.
On the hitting side, Riley Leonardo was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. She also put up a triple, which was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Mia Hendrickson, who scored a run while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Atwater's victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-3. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Merced, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-2-2 record this season.
Merced beat Atwater 7-3 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Will Merced repeat their success, or does Atwater have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
