Merced is on a ten-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Atwater is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Bears will host the Falcons at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Merced's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Golden Valley as they made off with a 9-0 victory. The win continues a trend for the Bears in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now won four in a row.
Annalise Ramirez made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out 13 over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two triples, three RBI, and one stolen base. Those two triples gave her a new career-high.
Liliana Meneley
| 04/16/25 vs Golden Valley | 2 |
| 03/27/25 @ Golden Valley | 1 |
| 03/20/25 vs El Capitan | 1 |
| 02/20/25 vs Sonora | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Liliana Meneley, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Maisen Priddell, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Atwater made easy work of Los Banos on Tuesday and carried off a 9-3 victory.
Mia Hendrickson was incredible, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Audrina Granados, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Atwater was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .387. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Los Banos only posted a batting average of .185.
Merced's win bumped their record up to 17-2-1. As for Atwater, their victory bumped their record up to 18-5.
Merced was able to grind out a solid win over Atwater in their previous meeting last Wednesday, winning 4-0. Do the Bears have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Falcons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
