The Willow Glen Rams are taking a road trip to challenge the Hollister Haybalers at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Willow Glen will come into the match with an undefeated record on the line.
Willow Glen's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Ann Sobrato as they made off with a 10-0 win. Considering the Rams have won ten contests by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Alanna Clincy made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out nine over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in 15 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, Katelynn Dilbeck and Maia Mendoza did most of the damage at the plate: Dilbeck went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Mendoza went 2-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI Mendoza has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Lyla Aguayo, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple and two RBI.
Willow Glen was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .423. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ann Sobrato only posted a batting average of .125.
Meanwhile, Hollister had just enough and edged out North Salinas 5-3 on Friday. The Haybalers haven't had any issues with the Vikings recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive victory against them.
Like Willow Glen, Hollister also got a great game from a two-way player: Eliana Hatchett. On the mound, she tossed seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits. Hatchett was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one triple.
In other batting news, Avery Chavez was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Willow Glen pushed their record up to 18-0-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.4 runs over those games. As for Hollister, their record is now 12-7-1.
Hollister's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Willow Glen has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.4 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Hollister, though, as they've been averaging only 3.8 strikeouts. Will Willow Glen keep running through batters, or will the Haybalers buck the trend? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
