The Casa Grande Gauchos will face off against the San Ramon Valley Wolves at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Casa Grande comes in on ten and San Ramon Valley on three.
Casa Grande proved they can win big last Wednesday (they won by 11) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They skirted past Vintage 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Gauchos have posted since April 12th.
Lila Partridge was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off seven hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 18 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lauren Ketchu, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. Another player making a difference was Veronica Nunez-Miller, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only San Ramon Valley walked away with it. They never let the Ugly Eagles get on the board and left with a 7-0 win on Wednesday. Considering the Wolves have won ten games by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Not much got past Lila McLeod, who gave up just five hits to keep Clayton Valley Charter off the board.
On the hitting side, Gia Ryan was excellent, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. Addie Layous was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.
San Ramon Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Clayton Valley Charter only posted an OBP of .222.
Casa Grande pushed their record up to 20-5-1 with the victory, which was their ninth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for San Ramon Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 16-7-2.
Casa Grande couldn't quite finish off San Ramon Valley in their previous matchup back in April and fell 3-1. Will the Gauchos have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
