The Gahr Gladiators will square off against the Rio Mesa Spartans at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Gahr: 3.2, Rio Mesa: 2.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Gahr is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They skirted past Tesoro 4-3. The win was familiar territory for Gahr who now have four in a row.
Isabella Gonzalez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on nine hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than six innings in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Gahr's victory was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Marley Cortez, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and an RBI. Rio Mendez was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Temple City typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday Rio Mesa proved too difficult a challenge. They came out on top against the Rams by a score of 7-2. The win made it back-to-back victories for Rio Mesa.
Jasmine Reyes made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off eight hits. Reyes was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 4-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jaslene Rios, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a double.
Gahr's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-10. As for Rio Mesa, they are on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 13 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 24-5 record this season.
Thursday's contest will be a test for both team's pitchers. Gahr hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .343. However, it's not like Rio Mesa struggles in that department as they've averaged .325. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Gahr came up short against Rio Mesa in their previous meeting back in March, falling 4-1. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Reyes, who struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. Now that Gahr knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
