The Manteca Buffaloes will face off against the Mountain House Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Manteca is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.5 runs per game this season.
Manteca came into this matchup off a tough 11-run loss on Friday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Central Catholic by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Buffaloes have suffered since May 2, 2024.
Isabel Tonna was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she pitched six innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.
Marissa San Nicolas
| 03/25/25 @ Central Catholic | 3 |
| 03/18/25 @ East Union | 2 |
| 03/20/25 vs Sierra | 1 |
| 03/13/25 vs Patterson | 1 |
| 03/07/25 @ Escalon | 1 |
On the hitting side, Marissa San Nicolas was cooking despite her team's loss, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run. Those three hits gave her a new career-high.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mountain House). They blew past Sierra 24-1 on Tuesday. The win was familiar territory for the Mustangs, who have now won three contests in a row.
Haylie Townsley made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. That's the fewest hits she has allowed since back in February. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with three RBI.
In other batting news, Mountain House got a massive performance out of MacKenzie Coffman, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with five RBI, three runs, and one stolen base. That stolen base was Coffman's first of the season. Another player making a difference was Surianti Bakri, who scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances.
Mountain House always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .829. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Mountain House's victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 14-2. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.5 runs on average over those games. As for Manteca, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-4.
Thursday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Manteca hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .332. However, it's not like Mountain House struggles in that department as they've averaged .337. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Manteca's way against Mountain House when the teams last played back in March of 2024, as Manteca made off with an 8-0 victory. Will Manteca repeat their success, or does Mountain House has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
