The Piedmont Highlanders will take on the Saint Mary's Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Piedmont is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.
Piedmont will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Thursday, then bounced right back against Hercules on Monday. The Highlanders were the clear victors by a 15-3 margin over the Titans.
Miya Fujimoto made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over five 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 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March.
Edie Elmquist
| 04/28/25 vs Hercules | 3 |
| 04/14/25 @ Oakland Tech | 2 |
| 03/18/25 vs Mt. Diablo | 2 |
| 03/11/25 @ American | 2 |
| 04/15/25 @ Healdsburg | 1 |
In other batting news, Piedmont got a big performance out of Edie Elmquist, who got on base in two of her four plate appearances with three runs and three RBI. Those three RBI gave Elmquist a new career-high. Angelina Wu was another key player, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Saint Mary's didn't have quite enough to beat Salesian College Preparatory on Wednesday and fell 10-9. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Aoife Shen made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and fired off two home runs, four runs, and two stolen bases while going 4-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Meilani Abraham, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, one double, and one RBI.
Piedmont has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-7 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Saint Mary's, their loss dropped their record down to 5-10.
Saint Mary's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Piedmont has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Saint Mary's, though, as they've been averaging only 2.6 strikeouts. Will Piedmont keep running through batters, or will the Panthers buck the trend?
Piedmont was able to grind out a solid victory over Saint Mary's when the teams last played back in February of 2023, winning 5-1. Will the Highlanders repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
