The Leigh Longhorns will take on the Scotts Valley Falcons at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, it was close, but Leigh sidestepped Mountain View for a 4-2 win. That's two games straight that the Longhorns have won by exactly two runs.
Sophia Gandara spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on four hits and racked up ten Ks.
On the hitting side, Liliana Pon was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Camryn Manning-Alarcon, who scored a run and stole three bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last matchup, Scotts Valley made sure to put some runs up on the board against North Monterey County on Saturday. Everything went Scotts Valley's way against North Monterey County as Scotts Valley made off with a 16-2 victory. The Falcons' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Chloe Kent made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with three RBI. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in RBI.
In other pitching news, Sofie Seese looked comfortable as she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run any time she's pitched this season.
Back at the plate, Scotts Valley got a massive performance out of Gracie Delgado, who went 1-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That home run marked the first that Delgado launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Bella Williams, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3.
Scotts Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .633. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Monterey County only posted an OBP of .312.
The win made it two in a row for Leigh and bumps their season record up to a perfect 2-0. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of two runs across that stretch. As for Scotts Valley, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Leigh skirted past Scotts Valley 5-4 in their previous meeting back in April of 2015. Does Leigh have another victory up their sleeve, or will Scotts Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.