The Riverbank girls lost a tight game, at 1-0, to Escalon on Tuesday. But they saw their luck improve with a 5-0 shutout of Ripon Christian on Thursday.
"It was a tough loss," said Bruin varsity softball coach Sam Graham of the Escalon game. "They didn't score until the sixth inning. And they only had three hits to our two."
It came down to a pitchers duel between Escalon's Nikki Brown, rated among the top hurlers in the league, and Riverbank's Megan Medrano, who threw 14 strikeouts in this game.
There was little for Riverbank to celebrate at bat. Chelsea Walls and Medrano were the only Bruins to collect a hit. They each had a single during three visits to the plate.
"Megan pitched the whole game and did a good job, but we struggled in hitting," said Graham.
Riverbank, however, did make three errors in the field compared with their opponent's two.
"We had one girl reach third base, but couldn't get the hit to bring her in," said Graham.
Courtney Brock, on second base, pulled off a couple of nice catches, he added.
Riverbank romped through their second home game against Ripon Christian on Thursday, starting with a barrage of four runs in the first inning and adding another in the sixth.
"We had three hits and one error while RC had six hits but four errors," said Graham.
Walls, a freshman, did the pitching and scored nine strikeouts.
Brock, also a freshman, went 1-for 3. But her hit was a homer down the third base line. So she posted an RBI and a run as well.
"She's a strong hitter. We brought up Walls and Brock together from the junior varsity," said Graham.
This week the Bruins are playing Hughson on Tuesday and Patterson on Thursday. They are the two other top teams in the league besides Escalon
While veteran pitcher Medrano handles the tough games, Walls is being encouraged to throw against the weaker teams to give her experience.
"It was a tough loss," said Bruin varsity softball coach Sam Graham of the Escalon game. "They didn't score until the sixth inning. And they only had three hits to our two."
It came down to a pitchers duel between Escalon's Nikki Brown, rated among the top hurlers in the league, and Riverbank's Megan Medrano, who threw 14 strikeouts in this game.
There was little for Riverbank to celebrate at bat. Chelsea Walls and Medrano were the only Bruins to collect a hit. They each had a single during three visits to the plate.
"Megan pitched the whole game and did a good job, but we struggled in hitting," said Graham.
Riverbank, however, did make three errors in the field compared with their opponent's two.
"We had one girl reach third base, but couldn't get the hit to bring her in," said Graham.
Courtney Brock, on second base, pulled off a couple of nice catches, he added.
Riverbank romped through their second home game against Ripon Christian on Thursday, starting with a barrage of four runs in the first inning and adding another in the sixth.
"We had three hits and one error while RC had six hits but four errors," said Graham.
Walls, a freshman, did the pitching and scored nine strikeouts.
Brock, also a freshman, went 1-for 3. But her hit was a homer down the third base line. So she posted an RBI and a run as well.
"She's a strong hitter. We brought up Walls and Brock together from the junior varsity," said Graham.
This week the Bruins are playing Hughson on Tuesday and Patterson on Thursday. They are the two other top teams in the league besides Escalon
While veteran pitcher Medrano handles the tough games, Walls is being encouraged to throw against the weaker teams to give her experience.
