The Fernley Vaqueros will take on the Hug Hawks at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Fernley has three straight victories, Hug has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
While Fernley's win against Elko wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Vaqueros sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-4 victory over the Indians on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Vaqueros have posted since April 5th.
Taylor Tollestrup
| 05/01/25 vs Elko | 3 |
| 04/30/25 vs Elko | 1 |
| 04/30/25 vs Elko | 2 |
| 04/26/25 vs University Prep | 3 |
| 04/26/25 vs Foothill | 2 |
| + 9 more games |
The team relied heavily on Taylor Tollestrup, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with one home run, three stolen bases, and three runs. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last 14 games she's played.
Meanwhile, Hug came up short against Sparks on Monday, falling 17-2.
Hug saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Daisy Torres, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two stolen bases, one double, and one RBI. Another was Juliana Ruiz, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and one double.
Fernley pushed their record up to 22-8 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Hug, their loss dropped their record down to 3-18.
Hug's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Fernley has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.6 hits per game. It's a different story for Hug, though, as they've been averaging 12.7 hits. Given Fernley's sizable advantage in that area, the Hawks will need to find a way to close that gap.
Fernley took their victory against Hug in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 17-1 score. Will the Vaqueros repeat their success, or do the Hawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
