With a playoff game on the line, Taft rose to the challenge on Friday. They never let the Orthopaedic Vipers onto the board and left with an 11-0 win. The victory was a breath of fresh air for Taft as it put an end to their 11-game losing streak.
Chiara Cioffi made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Cioffi has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances. Cioffi was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Zahra Hengst and Katelyn Levine did most of the damage at the plate: Hengst scored three runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3, while Levine got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs, a triple, and a stolen base. Maya Gunderson was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4.
Taft's win bumped their record up to 5-13. As for Orthopaedic, their loss dropped their record down to 17-4.
Taft will square off against Sylmar at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Sylmar will roll in looking for their fifth straight victory, something Taft surely won't give up without a fight. Orthopaedic does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
