The Pleasant Valley Vikings will square off against the Foothill Cougars at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Pleasant Valley 3.5, Foothill 2.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Pleasant Valley is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They beat Chico by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 6-3. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Vikings.
Alissa Snipes was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 13 batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. Snipes was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.
Snipes wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Elyse Hayes, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one run. That's the most hits Hayes has posted since back in April. Bella Cox was another, earning one run and two stolen bases.
Meanwhile, Foothill waltzed into their match on Tuesday with eight straight wins... but they left with nine. Everything went their way against the Thunderbirds as they made off with a 10-0 victory. Considering the Cougars have won 13 contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Pleasant Valley, Foothill also got a great game from a two-way player: Elisea Wiegand. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over six innings pitched. Wiegand has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in nine consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Malia Webb, who went 2-for-3 with three runs and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Alexa Francis, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and one double.
Foothill hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Las Plumas struck out eight times.
Pleasant Valley's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 19-6-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Foothill, their record is now 24-5-1.
Thursday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Pleasant Valley hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .318. However, it's not like Foothill struggles in that department as they've averaged .320. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Pleasant Valley couldn't quite finish off Foothill in their previous meeting two weeks ago and fell 3-1. Can the Vikings avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
