Softball Game Preview: Northridge Academy Pumas vs. Bell Eagles

The Northridge Academy Pumas will take on the Bell Eagles at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

If Northridge Academy beats Bell with 19 runs on Wednesday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. Everything went the Pumas' way against Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences on Thursday as they made off with a 19-3 win. Winning may never get old, but the Pumas sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.

Val Montes made a splash while hitting and pitching. She pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two hits in nine consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run, four runs, and four RBI.

Guadalupe Ortiz

Hits (Career)

05/15/25 @ Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences	5
04/28/25 @ Fulton	4
04/07/25 @ Vaughn	4
04/11/24 vs Sherman Oaks CES	4
05/09/25 @ East Valley	3

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Guadalupe Ortiz, who went a perfect 5-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Those five hits gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jackie Nettles, who got on base in three of her five plate appearances with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.

Northridge Academy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .588. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .500 or higher in three consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Bell had no problem doing just that on Monday. They were the clear victors by a 16-4 margin over the Dragons. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Eagles as it put an end to their ten-game losing streak.

Northridge Academy pushed their record up to 16-4 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Bell, their record now sits at 6-14.