Softball Game Preview: Venice Gondoliers vs. Mira Costa Mustangs

The Venice Gondoliers will square off against the Mira Costa Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Venice has six straight victories, Mira Costa has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Venice is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Los Angeles CES a 26-0 shutout on Monday. The Gondoliers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 13 matches by seven runs or more this season.

Monserrath Zapata

Batters Struck Out

05/05/25 vs Los Angeles CES	7
05/03/25 vs Eagle Rock	5
04/14/25 @ El Segundo	3
04/12/25 vs Harvard-Westlake	1
04/07/25 @ Hamilton	13

Monserrath Zapata made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in April. She was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Sandy Carrera, who went 4-for-5 with four runs, five RBI, and one triple. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jaelyn Jacobo, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs.

Venice was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .725. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Monday just wasn't the day for Mira Costa's offense. They came up short against Redondo Union on Monday, falling 13-0. The shutout was out of character for the Mustangs seeing as the last time the team failed to score was back in March.

Venice pushed their record up to 17-2 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Mira Costa, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-18.