After soaring to 14 runs the game before, Santa Clara was a bit more limited in their match on Thursday. They lost 11-1 to the Cupertino Pioneers. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Santa Clara of the 15-2 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in March.
Santa Clara saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Malana Dinwiddie, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
On Cupertino's side, DJ Martinez made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over six innings pitched. Martinez has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't pitched less than five innings every time she's pitched this season. Martinez was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Shelby Apostolo was incredible, going 3-for-4 with a home run, five RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Belle Walker, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4.
Santa Clara has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-10 record this season. As for Cupertino, they pushed their record up to 12-4 with that victory, which was their third straight at home.
Santa Clara will take on Homestead at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Homestead's pitching crew has only allowed 3.3 runs per game this season, so Santa Clara's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Cupertino, they will head out on the road to challenge Saratoga at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Cupertino: 3.1, Saratoga: 4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
