It was an interesting day in Turlock on Tuesday as the wind reached nearly 30 miles per hour; however, nothing slowed down the Pitman Pride's potent offensive performance as they shutout Buhach Colony, 6-0.
Alexis Mettler pitched a complete game shutout and allowed only four hits behind a solid defensive performance and offense that had over 11 hits for the game.
“They did a wonderful job; the hitting was off the charts today,” Pitman head coach Cassie Sheppherd said. “[They] were laying down their bunts. They really stepped it up and did what we asked them to do overall.”
The Pride have won five of their last six games and currently sit fourth at (14-11 overall, 7-6 CCC) behind third place Buhach (7-5) CCC. The offense has been staggering as they have put up 130 runs in only 25 games.
“We need Atwater to beat Buhach, then if that happens we can get third place and then be able to go to the playoffs,” Sheppherd said. “That’s what we’re hoping for, but you know we’re not looking past anything.”
Sophomore standout Cady Riley had a pair of triples for the game, one in the third and the other in the fourth as she added to the offense and is now leading the team and hitting well over .460 for the year.
“Cady Riley was called up from JV seven games ago and she has been playing spectacular since the first game we called her up,” Sheppherd said. “We lose players every year, when we lost players I brought her up and she has stepped up and done her job, wish I would’ve called her earlier. Hopefully next two years she will continue to lead this team. Since the first game she stepped up and earned her spot.”
Pitman High is now only two wins away from possibly making the playoffs for a third straight year as they will face off against fifth place Golden Valley High (1-9, CCC) on Thursday at home for a crucial CCC matchup.
“Turlock and Golden Valley, they are up and are always performing at a high level. We definitely need to hit the ball well against them,” Sheppherd said. “We talk about the significance of these final games all the time, they know where we stand and if we can pull away with it will be our third consecutive year making the playoffs."
