The Rocklin Thunder will take on the Whitney Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Rocklin 1.5, Whitney 2.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Rocklin's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They blew past Davis Sr. 9-0. The Thunder might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight contests by six runs or more this season.
Payton Prior was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.
In other batting news, Katie Wetteland and Savannah Lorenzini did most of the damage at the plate: Wetteland went 2-for-4 with one home run and two runs, while Lorenzini went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Abi Brown, who scored a run while going 1-for-1.
Meanwhile, Whitney entered their tilt with Granite Bay on Wednesday with three consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with four. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Grizzlies. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Wildcats have posted since February 25th.
Taylor Cordell tossed a big game, striking out ten batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Those ten strikeouts gave her a new career-high.
At the plate, Whitney's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Tylie Kitchen, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Whitney's victory bumped their record up to 9-4. As for Rocklin, their win bumped their record up to 10-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Rocklin hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.2 home runs per game. However, it's not like Whitney struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Rocklin beat Whitney 6-2 when the teams last played back in February. Do the Thunder have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
