The Kaiser Cats will square off against the Rialto Knights at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
On Wednesday, Kaiser got the win against Jurupa Hills by a conclusive 10-3.
Vanessa Contreras made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. Contreras was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI.
In other batting news, Kaiser let Aubriana Espinoza and Alyssa Rios run wild. Espinoza got on base in three of her five plate appearances with two runs and two RBI, while Rios went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Christina Diaz was another key player, getting on base in two of her three plate appearances with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Kaiser hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in five consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Rialto didn't have quite enough to beat Bloomington on Wednesday and fell 14-13. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Tuesday (ten), the Knights still had to take the loss.
Delilah Munoz and Johanna Zamano stepped up to the plate in a big way. Munoz went 3-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles, while Zamano went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Desiree Saldate, who went 3-for-5 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Rialto's loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 5-13. Those road defeats can't be blamed on the team's hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.3 runs over those games. As for Kaiser, their win bumped their record up to 7-13.
Kaiser was able to grind out a solid victory over Rialto when the teams last played back in April of 2022, winning 6-3. Do the Cats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Knights turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
