vs
| 04/08/25 - Home | 2-5 L |
| 05/10/24 - Home | 2-3 L |
| 04/26/24 - Home | 3-4 L |
| 04/03/24 - Home | 4-3 W |
| 05/12/23 - Neutral | 8-0 W |
| + 5 more games |
Vintage and Casa Grande are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2021, but likely not for long. The Crushers will head out to take on the Gauchos at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Vintage 1.8, Casa Grande 2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Vintage is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Pioneer just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Monday. They fell just short of the Patriots by a score of 3-2.
Angie Rubalcava was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She tossed six innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. Rubalcava was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
Rubalcava wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Malina Viruet, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one double.
Meanwhile, Casa Grande came tearing into Wednesday's matchup with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.6 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Braves an 11-0 shutout.
Like Vintage, Casa Grande also got a great game from a two-way player: Brittony Johnson. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over six innings pitched. Johnson was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double. Those two RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Haley Learn was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Those three hits gave her a new career-high. Sam Catania also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Casa Grande kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 11 hits in four consecutive games.
Casa Grande pushed their record up to 16-5-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Vintage, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Vintage has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Casa Grande struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Vintage couldn't quite get it done against Casa Grande in their previous matchup back in April as they fell 5-2. Can the Crushers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
