Oak Ridge has won eight straight games at home, while Del Oro has won eight straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Saturday. The Trojans will welcome the Golden Eagles at 4:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Oak Ridge 1.5, Del Oro 1.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Oak Ridge is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They never let Whitney get on the board and left with a 7-0 victory. The Trojans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 14 games by six runs or more this season.
Whitney's batters probably weren't too happy with Ellison Schroeder, who pitched a no hitter (she gave up two walks).
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Gemma Almont, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. That's the most runs she has posted since back in February. Carmen Montes De Oca was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two runs.
Meanwhile, Del Oro and Saint Francis (ranked 24th and 40th in the MaxPreps national rankings respectively) squared off in a high-profile matchup on Thursday. The Golden Eagles had just enough and edged out the Lancers 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Golden Eagles have posted since March 3rd.
Caelyn Campos and Avyn Brower did most of the damage at the plate: Campos went 2-for-3 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Brower went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Campos has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Emma Johnson, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Del Oro lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Saint Francis didn't launched any home runs.
Del Oro has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 19 of their last 20 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 30-2 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.8 runs over those games. As for Oak Ridge, their win bumped their record up to 26-4.
Saturday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Oak Ridge hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .332. However, it's not like Del Oro struggles in that department as they've averaged .397. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Oak Ridge came out on top in a nail-biter against Del Oro when the teams last played two weeks ago, sneaking past 3-2. Will the Trojans repeat their success, or do the Golden Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
