The Katella Knights will venture away from home to square off against the Buena Park Coyotes at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Buena Park will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Katella extended their winning streak to three on Monday. The Knights came out on top against Calvary Chapel by a score of 10-7.
Dani Neville
| 02/20/25 @ Woodrow Wilson | 1 |
| 02/28/25 vs El Rancho | 1 |
| 04/09/25 @ Santiago | 1 |
| 03/29/25 vs Chaparral | 2 |
| 04/04/25 @ Valencia | 2 |
Dani Neville spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered seven earned runs on 12 hits and racked up nine Ks. Those nine strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Nataly Rodarte, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Jackie Morelos was another key player, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Katella always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .515. They are 5-1 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Buena Park). They never let Laguna Hills get on the board and left with a 14-0 win on Wednesday. The Coyotes might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by six runs or more this season.
Mia Gonzalez made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 15 over five innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI.
In other batting news, Layla Hinojos was incredible, scoring three runs while going 3-for-4. Emma Cazares also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
Buena Park has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Katella, the win got them back to even at 9-9.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Katella has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Buena Park struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Katella might still be hurting after the 7-1 defeat they got from Buena Park in their previous meeting back in March of 2022. Can the Knights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
