The Central Catholic Raiders will face off against the Vanden Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Central Catholic comes in on six and Vanden on 16.
Central Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Manteca a 1-0 shutout. Give the Raiders' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.
Not much got past Stephanie Garcia, who gave up just four hits to keep Manteca off the board. Garcia has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Taryn Calderon, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two stolen bases, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Jazmarie Roberts, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Vanden made easy work of Ponderosa on Tuesday and carried off a 13-5 win. The Vikings might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 13 matchups by six runs or more this season.
Isabella Cueva spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five runs (all of which were unearned) on seven hits.
On the hitting side, Niayli Calvo was incredible, getting on base in all five of her plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Mariah Aguiling, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one run.
Vanden always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .553. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ponderosa only posted an OBP of .355.
Vanden's victory was their 11th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-4. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.4 runs over those games. As for Central Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 26-5.
Central Catholic's speedy runners might be the difference in Saturday's contest. The Raiders have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Vanden, though, as they've been averaging only 0.6 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Central Catholic continue to outrun the ball?
Central Catholic was able to grind out a solid win over Vanden in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, winning 9-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Raiders since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
