The Hilmar Yellowjackets will square off against the Summerville Bears at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Hilmar came into this matchup off a tough 11-run defeat on Tuesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Sonora by a score of 8-6 on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Yellowjackets have suffered since March 25th.
Sophie Stivers spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and four unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up nine Ks.
At the plate, Camryn Mattos made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one double. Another player making a difference was Destiny Denys, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Meanwhile, while Summerville put up plenty of runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Riverbank. The Bears put the hurt on the Bruins with a sharp 17-0 victory. The Bears haven't had any issues with the Bruins recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Not much got past Madelyn Nikiforuk, who gave up just two hits to keep Riverbank off the board.
On the hitting side, McKenzie Munsel was a standout: she went 4-for-5 with three runs, one triple, and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March of 2024. Abigail Minick was another key player, going 3-for-5 with four runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
Summerville kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Summerville's victory bumped their record up to 10-12. As for Hilmar, they now have a losing record of 10-11.
Summerville's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Hilmar hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .335. It's a different story for Summerville, though, as they've only averaged .256. Will they be able to contain Hilmar's hitters?
Hilmar couldn't quite finish off Summerville when the teams last played back in February and fell 15-13. Can the Yellowjackets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
