The Albany Cougars are taking a road trip to square off against the Salesian College Preparatory Pride at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Albany sitting on three straight victories and Salesian College Preparatory on 11.
Albany is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They were the clear victors by a 14-3 margin over St. Patrick-St. Vincent. Considering the Cougars have won seven matches by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Caroline Snyder made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Lauren Jones
| 05/09/25 vs St. Patrick-St. Vincent | 4 |
| 03/18/25 @ De Anza | 3 |
| 03/07/25 @ St. Patrick-St. Vincent | 3 |
| 03/18/24 vs El Cerrito | 3 |
| 05/07/24 vs Pinole Valley | 2 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lauren Jones, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. Riley Wilson also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.
Albany hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Salesian College Preparatory sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-4 win over Piedmont on Tuesday. That's two games straight that the Pride have won by just one run.
Like Albany, Salesian College Preparatory also got a great game from a two-way player: DeAmor Coleman. She struck out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. Coleman was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one double.
Coleman wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Mia Villanueva, who went 1-for-3 with one triple and one run. Dakota Harrell was another, going 1-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Salesian College Preparatory's victory was their eighth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-5. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Albany, they now have a winning record of 10-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Albany has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Salesian College Preparatory struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Albany couldn't quite get it done against Salesian College Preparatory in their previous matchup back in April as they fell 4-0. Can the Cougars avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
