The Branham Bruins will head out on the road to take on the Gilroy Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Gilroy is hoping to do on Friday what Live Oak couldn't on Wednesday: put an end to Branham's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Branham put the hurt on Live Oak with a sharp 9-3 victory.
Jacqueline Connolly Hojas spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on three hits and racked up six Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Branham's win was truly a team effort as eight different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Alexis Bojorquez-nava, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Michaela Grimsrud, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Gilroy's hitters rose to the challenge against a Bulldogs pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.21 points allowed on Wednesday. Gilroy never let Ann Sobrato onto the board and left with a 12-0 victory. The win was familiar territory for Gilroy who now have four in a row.
Not much got past Ariela Yslava, who gave up just two hits and racked up seven Ks to keep Ann Sobrato off the board.
On the hitting side, Bam Mendoza was incredible, going 2-for-4 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles. Jocelyn Ta was another key contributor, going 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Branham is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 15-7 record this season. As for Gilroy, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Branham hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Gilroy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Branham took their win against Gilroy in their previous matchup back in March by a conclusive 10-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for Branham since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
