The Rio Mesa Spartans will square off against the Saugus Centurions at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Rio Mesa 3.9, Saugus 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Rio Mesa saw some tournament action on Saturday. They fell 7-4 to Westlake. The Spartans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Rio Mesa saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Sophia Alvarez, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI. Those two RBI gave Alvarez a new career-high. Keira Barry was another, scoring a run while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Saugus made easy work of Golden Valley on Thursday and carried off an 11-1 victory. The Centurions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matchups by six runs or more this season.
Riley Nelson tossed a big game, striking out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit (and not a single walk). She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Amelia Johnson, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Savanna Smith, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Saugus kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 11 hits in seven consecutive contests.
Saugus' win bumped their record up to 12-4. As for Rio Mesa, their loss dropped their record down to 9-4.
Saturday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Rio Mesa hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .339. However, it's not like Saugus struggles in that department as they've averaged .396. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Rio Mesa came up short against Saugus in their previous matchup back in March of 2022, falling 5-1. Can Rio Mesa avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
