After both having extra time off, the Wheatland Pirates and the Oakmont Vikings will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Wheatland knows how to get runs on the board -- the team has finished with ten runs or more in their past seven contests -- so hopefully Oakmont likes a good challenge.
Last Tuesday, Wheatland made easy work of Mira Loma and carried off a 22-3 win. Considering the Pirates have won nine matches by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Eleanor (Ellie) Rounds made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and one double. Those three RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Wheatland got a massive performance out of Sophie O'Donnell, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with six RBI, three runs, and two doubles. Those six RBI gave O'Donnell a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Gwendylyn Chan, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and four RBI.
Wheatland was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .480. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .304 or higher in 11 consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Oakmont beat Marysville 11-8 last Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Vikings in their matchups with the Indians: they've now won four in a row.
The team relied heavily on Addison Turner, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with six stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Lila Hale, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one double.
Wheatland is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.0 runs over those games. As for Oakmont, their victory bumped their record up to 10-5.
Oakmont's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Wheatland has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 12.1 hits per game. It's a different story for Oakmont, though, as they've been averaging 9.1 hits. Given Wheatland's sizable advantage in that area, the Vikings will need to find a way to close that gap.
Wheatland beat Oakmont 10-7 in their previous matchup back in March. Will the Pirates repeat their success, or do the Vikings have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
