Santa Monica is on a five-game streak of home wins, while Culver City is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Vikings will welcome the Centaurs at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Thursday, Santa Monica got the win against Lawndale by a conclusive 19-2. That's two games straight that the Vikings have won by exactly 17 runs.
Meanwhile, Culver City got themselves on the board against Beverly Hills on Thursday, but Beverly Hills never followed suit. They blew past the Normans 21-0.
Adriana Martinez and Anyah Francis made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Martinez pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Francis tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave Martinez a new career-high in strikeouts (five). At the plate, Martinez went a perfect 3-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run, while Francis got on base in three of her four plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Sofia De LaFuente was a standout: she went a perfect 3-for-3 with six RBI, two runs, and one double. Those six RBI gave her a new career-high. Hayden Martin was another key player, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base.
Culver City always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .917. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Santa Monica is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Culver City, their win bumped their record up to 9-11.
Santa Monica was able to grind out a solid victory over Culver City when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 4-1. Do the Vikings have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Centaurs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
