Softball Game Preview: Artesia Pioneers vs. Cerritos Dons

Artesia is 1-9 against Cerritos since March of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. Artesia will host Cerritos at 3:15 p.m. Artesia is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.4 runs per game this season.

Artesia is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Westminster 17-1 on Tuesday. Considering the Pioneers have won four contests by more than nine runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

Kaleyse Foster

Runs (Career)

03/25/25 @ Westminster	4
04/19/24 @ Glenn	3
04/16/24 @ Oxford Academy	3
03/22/24 vs Glenn	3
03/15/25 vs Burbank	2

The team relied heavily on Kaleyse Foster, who scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Those four runs gave her a new career-high. Mia Soto was another key player, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4.

Artesia always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .632. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Cerritos, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Tuesday. They came out on top against North by a score of 6-2 on Friday.

Cerritos pushed their record up to 4-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 9.5 hits in those games compared to only 4.5 in the others. As for Artesia, they now have a winning record of 6-5.

Cerritos' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Artesia has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .484. It's a different story for Cerritos, though, as they've only averaged .336. Will they be able to contain Artesia's hitters?

Artesia suffered a grim 13-3 defeat to Cerritos in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Can Artesia avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.