Bishop Montgomery is 2-8 against Mary Star of the Sea since May of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Knights will be playing at home against the Stars at 3:15 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Mary Star of the Sea will be up against a hot Bishop Montgomery team: the squad just extended their winning streak to five. The Knights never let St. Monica get on the board and left with a 7-0 win on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Knights, who have now won 12 matches by six runs or more so far this season.
The result came thanks to Macey Kim's shutout, as she gave up just eight hits. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Grace Garciaparra, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Abigail Green, who went 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
Bishop Montgomery hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in 12 consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Mary Star of the Sea, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. Everything went their way against Serra on Tuesday as they made off with a 15-1 victory. The game marked the Stars' most dominant win of the season.
Kaidence Sandoval and Trinity Martinez made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Sandoval tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Martinez struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). At the plate, Sandoval got on base in three of her four plate appearances with three runs, one double, and one RBI, while Martinez got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Those three runs gave Sandoval a new career-high.
In other batting news, Amaree Arellano was a standout: she got on base in three of her four plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. Those three stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Maris Reyes was another key player, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs.
Bishop Montgomery's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-5. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Mary Star of the Sea, their victory ended a seven-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 3-9.
Mary Star of the Sea's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Bishop Montgomery hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .396. It's a different story for Mary Star of the Sea, though, as they've only averaged .246. Will they be able to contain Bishop Montgomery's hitters?
Everything went Bishop Montgomery's way against Mary Star of the Sea in their previous matchup back in March, as Bishop Montgomery made off with a 16-4 win. Will the Knights repeat their success, or do the Stars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
