The Garden Grove Argonauts will take on the Firebaugh Falcons at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Garden Grove barely beat Ocean View the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Argonauts put the hurt on the Seahawks with a sharp 15-7 win on Friday. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Argonauts' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Lyla Chavez made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than one walk in ten consecutive appearances. She was even better at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4 with three stolen bases, six RBI, and three runs. Those three stolen bases gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Garden Grove got a massive performance out of Nati Sualua-Orozco, who scored four runs while going 5-for-5. That's the most runs Sualua-Orozco has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Hailee Le, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-5.
Garden Grove always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .614. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Firebaugh had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 28-5 margin over the Dons. Considering the Falcons have won five matches by more than nine runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Abygail Huizar looked comfortable as she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Camila Curumaco was a standout: she went 4-for-5 with one home run, six RBI, and four runs. Aryana Villegas was another key player, scoring four runs and stealing four bases while going 4-for-5.
Firebaugh's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-7. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 22.0 runs over those games. As for Garden Grove, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-8.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Garden Grove has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Firebaugh struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
