The Aptos Mariners will venture away from home to face off against the Palma Chieftains at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Aptos has three straight wins, Palma has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Thursday, Aptos made easy work of Santa Cruz and carried off a 14-2 victory. The result was nothing new for the Mariners, who have now won five contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Aptos got a great performance from Mya Najera-White as she struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits.
Emma Burgueno
| 04/03/25 vs Santa Cruz | 3 |
| 03/28/25 vs North Monterey County | 3 |
| 03/27/25 @ Soquel | 5 |
At the plate, Emma Burgueno was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI, and two runs. She has been hot recently, having posted three or more RBI the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Nova Neu, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
Aptos was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .536. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Palma lost 9-2 to Alisal two weeks ago. The game marked the Chieftains' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Keilani Pato-Guardado spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered six earned (and three unearned) runs on ten hits and racked up nine Ks.
On the hitting side, Palma saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Krystal Navarro, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Aptos pushed their record up to 6-4 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.0 runs over those games. As for Palma, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
