Central Catholic is on a eight-game streak of home wins, while Sandy is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Central Catholic Rams will take on the Sandy Pioneers at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Central Catholic's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They walked away with a 5-0 victory over Reynolds.
Jaspen Lauderback-Smith made a splash while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Lauderback-Smith was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with a stolen base and two RBI.
In other batting news, Portland Razo was excellent, going 2-for-4 with a triple and a run. Elle Merlino was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Sandy has not done well against Nelson recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Sandy came out on top against Nelson by a score of 6-1. That's two games straight that Sandy has won by exactly five runs.
Ruby Marak spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on one hit. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Katy Emerson, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a double. Another player making a difference was Kendall Wickizer, who scored two runs and stole two bases.
Central Catholic is on a roll lately: they've won 16 of their last 17 games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-3-1 record this season. As for Sandy, the win got them back to even at 11-11.
Sandy's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Central Catholic has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .455. It's a different story for Sandy, though, as they've only averaged .359. Will they be able to contain Central Catholic's hitters?
Central Catholic took their victory against Sandy in their previous meeting back in April by a conclusive 10-3. Will Central Catholic repeat their success, or does Sandy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
