Santa Clara was the 15-5 winner over Palo Alto when they last played one another back in May of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. The Santa Clara Bruins fell just short of the Palo Alto Vikings by a score of 9-8 on Tuesday. Even though they lost, Santa Clara's still made a splash at the plate and bumped their average scoring up to 6.2 runs per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).
Chloe Boyes '26 was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Cita (Analisa) Chavez '26, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
On Palo Alto's side, Kira Tzeng was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off nine hits (and only one walk). Tzeng has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances. Tzeng was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Alana Chun was excellent, scoring a run and stealing three bases while getting on base in two of her four plate appearances. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Kensie Pao, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of her four plate appearances.
This is the second loss in a row for Santa Clara and nudges their season record down to 4-6. As for Palo Alto, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 4-5-1.
Santa Clara will head out on the road to square off against Lynbrook at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Santa Clara is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.2 runs per game this season. As for Palo Alto, they will look to defend their home field on Thursday against Saratoga at 4:00 p.m. Palo Alto is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.1 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps