Thousand Oaks is 2-8 against Newbury Park since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Thousand Oaks Lancers will head out on the road to square off against the Newbury Park Panthers at 3:30 p.m. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Thousand Oaks has not done well against Westlake recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Thousand Oaks never let Westlake onto the board and left with a 1-0 win. Winning may never get old, but Thousand Oaks sure is getting used to it with their third in a row.
Claire Kirby made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Kirby was also big at the plate, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with a double.
Kirby wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Morgan Casillas, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Newbury Park came into Tuesday's game having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They were the clear victor by an 11-0 margin over Calabasas. Considering Newbury Park has won six matches by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Taylor Cook looked comfortable as she struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in 11 consecutive pitching appearances. Verronica Wasserman relieved her and did a solid job, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (she also didn't allow any walks).
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Sara Foster, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI. Makenna Kazmirski was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
The victory got Thousand Oaks back to even at 6-6. As for Newbury Park, their record now sits at 12-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Thousand Oaks has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Newbury Park struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Thousand Oaks' way against Newbury Park in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 as Thousand Oaks made off with a 6-0 win. Does Thousand Oaks have another victory up their sleeve, or will Newbury Park turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
