The Alisal Trojans will head out to challenge the Carmel Padres at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Alisal sitting on five straight victories and Carmel on three.
Alisal lost a heartbreaker the last time they played King City, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Tuesday's game. The Trojans never let the Mustangs get on the board and left with a 10-0 win on Tuesday. Give the Trojans' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.
Nevaeh Lopez
| 04/08/25 vs King City | 8 |
| 04/03/25 vs Soledad | 11 |
| 03/21/25 @ Palma | 5 |
| 03/20/25 vs Rancho San Juan | 10 |
| 03/19/25 @ Pacific Grove | 6 |
| + 2 more games |
Nevaeh Lopez made a splash no matter where she played. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. That stolen base marked the first that she snagged this season.
In other batting news, Ameryse Thatcher was a standout: she scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Mia Frias also deserves some recognition as she brought in her first RBI of the season.
Alisal was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .450. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Carmel made easy work of Soledad on Tuesday and carried off a 16-5 victory. Considering the Padres have won five contests by more than nine runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Alisal, Carmel also got a great game from a two-way player: Ava Mangiapane. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Mangiapane was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Those two doubles gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nicole Tapson, who scored four runs and stole a base while going 4-for-5. Another player making a difference was Delilah Herro, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.
Alisal pushed their record up to 7-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for Carmel, their record is now 9-3.
Carmel's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Alisal has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.3 hits per game. It's a different story for Carmel, though, as they've been averaging 9.2 hits. Given Alisal's sizable advantage in that area, the Padres will need to find a way to close that gap.
Alisal suffered a grim 11-1 defeat to Carmel in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Can the Trojans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
