Softball Game Preview: Hillcrest Trojans vs. La Quinta Blackhawks

The Hillcrest Trojans will challenge the La Quinta Blackhawks at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.

Hillcrest's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They blew past La Sierra 18-0. With that win, the Trojans brought their scoring average up to 7.6 runs per game.

Ashley James looked comfortable as she struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances.

Nicole Riddell

Runs Batted In (Career)

02/20/25 @ La Sierra	6
03/19/24 @ Patriot	4
02/19/25 @ Redlands East Valley	3
04/23/24 @ Norte Vista	3
04/22/24 @ Arlington	3

At the plate, Hillcrest got a massive performance out of Nicole Riddell, who fired off two home runs, six RBI, and three runs while going 3-for-5. The dominant performance gave Riddell a new career-high in RBI. Another player making a difference was Sarah Mcdowell, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two doubles.

Hillcrest kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now hit at least eight hits in seven consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, La Quinta waltzed into their match on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They put the hurt on the Diamondbacks with a sharp 10-1 victory. The game marked the Blackhawks' most dominant win of the season so far.

Hillcrest's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 3-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 runs over those games. As for La Quinta, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.