East Bernard has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Van Vleck Leopards at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (East Bernard: 2.2, Van Vleck: 2.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
East Bernard can now show off 15 landslide victories after their most recent contest on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Hitchcock a 15-0 shutout.
Addison Opela was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Opela has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive pitching appearances. Opela was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases.
In other batting news, Sommer Tijerina was a standout: she scored three runs and stole five bases while getting on base in two of her three plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Kylie Zarate, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, Van Vleck has not done well against Danbury recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Van Vleck skirted past Danbury 6-5. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Van Vleck.
The team relied heavily on Serenity Suarez, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI. Alexa Zuniga was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
East Bernard pushed their record up to 22-8-2 with that win, which was their ninth straight at home. As for Van Vleck, they are on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 14 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 19-3-1 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. East Bernard has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Van Vleck struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went East Bernard's way against Van Vleck in their previous matchup last Friday as East Bernard made off with a 10-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for East Bernard since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
