A feisty cat fight will be fought as Valley Center Jaguars duke it out with El Camino Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Valley Center has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while El Camino will arrive with three straight wins.
Valley Center is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They came up short against Classical Academy on Wednesday, falling 15-8.
Autumn Wageman made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. Deena Josephine Morrow also deserves some recognition as she brought in her first RBI of the season.
Even though they lost, Valley Center hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in seven consecutive contests.
While El Camino didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-18), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. Everything went their way against Ramona on Tuesday as El Camino made off with a 19-9 victory. Considering the Wildcats have won four matches by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Kayla Layland was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. What's more, she posted two RBI, the most she's had since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, El Camino let Bianca Rocha and Kailey Dain run wild. Rocha went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one triple, and two RBI, while Dain scored four runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Those three runs gave Rocha a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kaylani Feliciano-Taele, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Valley Center's defeat dropped their record down to 3-5. As for El Camino, their record is now 8-3.
Valley Center came up short against El Camino when the teams last played back in March of 2023, falling 6-2. Can Valley Center avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
