Birmingham is 1-9 against Granada Hills Charter since March of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Patriots are taking a road trip to take on the Highlanders at 3:00 p.m.
Birmingham fell victim to Chatsworth and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They fell just short of the Chancellors by a score of 1-0. Patriots fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Chancellors since on Wednesday.
Annabella Venegas spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up nine Ks.
Bella Gonzalez
| 04/23/25 vs Chatsworth | 2 |
| 04/11/25 vs Cleveland | 3 |
| 04/09/25 @ Taft | 1 |
At the plate, Birmingham saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Bella Gonzalez, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases. Gonzalez is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played.
Meanwhile, Granada Hills Charter had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They blew past the Toreadors 20-4. Considering the Highlanders have won ten contests by more than nine runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Addison Moorman looked comfortable as she struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk).
On the hitting side, Alana Miller was a standout: she went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That's the most runs she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Lainey Brown, who went 2-for-5 with one home run and four RBI.
Granada Hills Charter always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .675. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Granada Hills Charter's victory was their 14th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 18-3. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Birmingham, their loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 4-7.
Birmingham couldn't quite finish off Granada Hills Charter in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 and fell 7-5. Can the Patriots avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
