Napa hasn't had much luck against Redwood recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Napa Grizzlies will be playing at home against the Redwood Giants at 4:00 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Napa will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs last Tuesday, then bounced right back against Winters on Tuesday. Napa put the hurt on Winters with a sharp 10-2 victory. The win was some much needed relief for the Grizzlies as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Priscilla Morgado Rodriguez made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lauren Nicklas, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in RBI. Izzi Chae was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in two of her five plate appearances.
Napa kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They are 2-1 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, Redwood had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They blew past the Bulldogs 11-2. The Giants might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three contests by six runs or more this season.
Like Napa, Redwood also got a great game from a two-way player: Stella Belluomini. On the mound, she struck out ten batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits (and only one walk). Belluomini was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI. That double was her first of the season.
In other batting news, Adriella Marcus was incredible, scoring a run while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Kait Christensen, who went 3-for-5 with three RBI and one double.
The victory got Redwood back to even at 5-5. As for Napa, the win was their first at home , bumping their record up to 2-4.
