Tulare Western hasn't had much luck against Mission Oak recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Mustangs will look to defend their home field against the Hawks at 4:30 p.m. Tulare Western will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each contest than the last.
Tulare Western managed to slip by Tulare Union the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Mustangs came up short against the Tribe on Friday, falling 19-9.
Meiah Ledesma and Janmarie Topalian did some serious damage despite the final result: Ledesma got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double, while Topalian went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That double marked the first that Topalian has hit this season. Alivea Salcedo was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Mission Oak had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They came out on top against the Emperors by a score of 7-2. That's two games straight that the Hawks have won by exactly five runs.
Maleena Martin spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on seven hits.
At the plate, Mission Oak's win was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Chloe Collins, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Another was Mya Ortega, who went 2-for-3 with two runs.
Tulare Western's defeat dropped their record down to 13-6-1. As for Mission Oak, their victory bumped their record up to 11-9-1.
Tulare Western beat Mission Oak 11-8 in their previous matchup on April 4th. Will the Mustangs repeat their success, or do the Hawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
