The Gilroy Mustangs will square off against the King's Academy Knights on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Gilroy 2.4, King's Academy 3.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Gilroy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Saratoga a 1-0 shutout. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Mustangs.
The result came thanks to Ariela Yslava's shutout, as she gave up just a hit and racked up 14 Ks.
Gilroy hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Saratoga struck out 14 times.
Meanwhile, King's Academy had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it ten on Tuesday. They came out on top against the Acorns by a score of 3-0. Three seems to be a good number for the Knights as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Katia Nesper made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 18 over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in 15 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one triple and two RBI.
Nesper wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Mia Bennette, who went 1-for-4 with one run and one double.
Gilroy pushed their record up to 20-7 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for King's Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 19-7.
Saturday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Gilroy hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .360. However, it's not like King's Academy struggles in that department as they've averaged .312. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
