Softball Recap: Merced Picks Up Fourth Consecutive Win

Bears

Margin (Wins)

03/20/25 vs El Capitan	10
02/20/25 vs Sonora	9
02/11/25 @ Turlock	9
03/11/25 vs Golden Valley	7
02/22/25 vs Lodi	6

Merced waltzed into their contest on Thursday with three straight wins... but they left with four. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the El Capitan Gauchos a 10-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Bears, who have now won five matchups by six runs or more so far this season.

The team relied heavily on Bree Pimentel, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two doubles, and one triple. What's more, she posted two RBI, the most she's had since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Madison Cabral, who scored two runs and stole Three bases. while going 1-for-2.

Merced was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as El Capitan only posted a batting average of .000.

Merced pushed their record up to 8-2-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for El Capitan, they are on a 21-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-8.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Merced will head out to challenge Buhach Colony at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Buhach Colony has struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed nine runs per game on average), something Merced will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for El Capitan, they will head out on the road to face off against Atwater at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Atwater is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.3 runs per game this season.