Softball Game Preview: Norco Cougars vs. Ayala Bulldogs

The Norco Cougars will head out on the road to square off against the Ayala Bulldogs at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Norco sitting on three straight wins and Ayala on 17.

Norco is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They blew past Chino Hills 9-1. The Cougars might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 matchups by six runs or more this season.

Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Ayala ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They came out on top against La Mirada by a score of 9-5.

Ayala got a massive performance out of McKenzie Becerra, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. Jocelyn Escobedo was another key player, going 4-for-5 with two runs, two doubles, and one RBI.

Ayala hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in five consecutive contests.

Norco pushed their record up to 27-3 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Ayala, their victory bumped their record up to 22-2.

Norco took their win against Ayala in their previous meeting back in February of 2020 by a conclusive 7-0 score. Do the Cougars have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bulldogs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.