Softball Recap: Hesperia Christian Drops Season-High Score on Lucerne Valley

Patriots

Team Score (Highest)

04/22/25 @ Lucerne Valley	25
02/25/25 @ Desert Christian	24
03/12/25 @ California Lutheran	21
04/04/25 vs Lucerne Valley	20
04/11/25 vs Silver Valley	18

Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hesperia Christian). They put the hurt on the Lucerne Valley Mustangs with a sharp 25-2 win on Tuesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.

Hailey Hoffman made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 12 batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits (and only one walk). She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her five plate appearances with four runs. Those four runs gave her a new career-high.

In other batting news, Hesperia Christian got a massive performance out of Eden Skinner, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, two triples, and three runs. That's the most triples Skinner has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Elyse VanderWeide, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with eight RBI, three runs, and two doubles.

Hesperia Christian was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .600. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Hesperia Christian has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-7-1 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.4 runs over those games. As for Lucerne Valley, they are on a 12-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-9.

Coincidentally, Hesperia Christian and Lucerne Valley will both be playing Silver Valley the next time they take the field. The Mustangs will host the Trojans at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, while the Patriots will head out to face them at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday.