The Murrieta Mesa Rams will challenge the Orange Lutheran Lancers at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Murrieta Mesa sitting on four straight victories and Orange Lutheran on eight.
Murrieta Mesa is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Huntington Beach a 12-0 shutout. Considering Murrieta Mesa has won 20 games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Lilly Hauser made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. Hauser has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances. Hauser was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run, five RBI, and a double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Paige Bambarger, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Taelyn Holley was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Orange Lutheran faced Canyon in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. Orange Lutheran came out on top against Canyon by a score of 7-4.
Brianne Weiss spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on six hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, Mya Diaz and Zara Mineo-Schrank did most of the damage at the plate: Diaz scored a run while going 2-for-4, while Mineo-Schrank went 2-for-2 with three RBI and a double. Another player making a difference was Olivia Oskorus, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4.
Murrieta Mesa has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 17 of their last 18 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 25-3 record this season. As for Orange Lutheran, their win was their 18th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 20-3.
Orange Lutheran's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Murrieta Mesa has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .511. It's a different story for Orange Lutheran, though, as they've only averaged .334. Will they be able to contain Murrieta Mesa's hitters?
Everything went Murrieta Mesa's way against Orange Lutheran when the teams last played back in February as Murrieta Mesa made off with a 12-5 victory. Does Murrieta Mesa have another victory up their sleeve, or will Orange Lutheran turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
