The Cerritos Dons will square off against the Valencia Tigers at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. Cerritos will be looking to extend their current seven-game winning streak.
Cerritos is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They blew past Mira Costa 14-5. Considering the Dons have won ten matchups by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Thursday as neither Valencia nor Rancho Verde made it on the board until the sixth inning. The Tigers came out on top in a nail-biter against the Mustangs, sneaking past 4-3.
Isabella Goulet spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on nine hits.
At the plate, Sophia Avina and Cadence Ledbetter did most of the damage at the plate: Avina went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one double, while Ledbetter got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run.
Valencia hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are 9-3 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Valencia is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 15-11 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Cerritos, their victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-6.
Cerritos' speedy runners might be the difference in Saturday's game. The Dons have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Valencia, though, as they've been averaging only 0.7 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Cerritos continue to outrun the ball?
Cerritos couldn't quite finish off Valencia when the teams last played back in April of 2016 and fell 5-3. Can the Dons avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
