The Shasta Wolves will take on the Central Valley Falcons at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Shasta is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Anderson get on the board and left with a 24-0 victory on Thursday. With that win, the Wolves brought their scoring average up to 6.9 runs per game.
Alivia Ridenour made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits over five innings pitched. Ridenour was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Shasta got a massive performance out of Haley Salkeld, who went 3-for-5 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles. That's the most RBI Salkeld has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Soleil Waterman, who went 2-for-5 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple.
Shasta was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .439. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Central Valley had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. Everything went their way against the Bulldogs as they made off with a 16-0 victory. While the Falcons didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-12), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Like Shasta, Central Valley also got a great game from a two-way player: Joleen Short. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave Short a new career-low in hits (zero). She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Luna Blankenship was a standout: she scored three runs and stole two bases while going 4-for-5. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last five games she's played. Savannah Beckman was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
Shasta's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-6. As for Central Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.
Shasta skirted past Central Valley 15-14 in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Will Shasta repeat their success, or does Central Valley has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
