The Palma Chieftains will square off against the Woodside Wildcats on Saturday. Palma will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.
Palma is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They beat Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 3-2.
Sophia Cardinale
| 05/28/25 @ Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory | 2 |
| 05/24/25 @ Notre Dame | 1 |
| 05/16/25 @ Alisal | 1 |
| 05/05/25 vs Hollister | 1 |
| 04/30/25 @ Salinas | 1 |
Sophia Cardinale made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 13 over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Those two hits gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Ashlyn Urmanita was excellent, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March.
Palma hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They are 3-1 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Woodside posted their closest victory since April 15th on Wednesday. They had just enough and edged out Watsonville 2-1. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Wildcats.
Hannah Walker spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits.
On the hitting side, Woodside's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ava Baker, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Palma pushed their record up to 10-14-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Woodside, their record now sits at 15-11.
Woodside's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Palma has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Woodside, though, as they've been averaging only 4 strikeouts. Will Palma keep running through batters, or will the Wildcats buck the trend? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
