The Westmont Warriors will face off against the Aptos Mariners on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Westmont sitting on three straight victories and Aptos on five.
Westmont is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They won by a run and slipped past Mountain View 2-1.
Regan Steele spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on five hits and racked up six Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 17 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Westmont saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Melia Andrade, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI.
Aptos came out on top against Ann Sobrato on Tuesday thanks in part to the team's impressive five-run fourth inning. The Mariners were the clear victors by a 9-2 margin over the Bulldogs. The Mariners might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 15 contests by six runs or more this season.
Aptos also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Mya Najera-White gave up just two earned runs on four hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, Bailey Fulton was incredible, going 3-for-4 with three runs, one triple, and two RBI. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Gwen Vaca, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Aptos hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in nine consecutive games.
Aptos pushed their record up to 17-7 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.7 runs over those games. As for Westmont, they now have a winning record of 15-14.
Westmont couldn't quite finish off Aptos when the teams last played back in March of 2016 and fell 7-5. Can the Warriors avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.