The Bishop's Knights will face off against the Escondido Charter Tigers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Bishop's 3.1, Escondido Charter 2.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
The home team had won the previous six meetings between Bishop's and Santa Fe Christian, and Bishop's kept the tradition alive. Bishop's came out on top against Santa Fe Christian by a score of 7-4 on Tuesday.
Jessica Yao made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching seven innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off nine hits. Yao was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Jayla Stafford was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Bailey Brightenburg was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run.
Bishop's lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since back in May of 2024.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Escondido Charter). Everything went their way against Coastal Academy on Wednesday as Escondido Charter made off with a 15-9 victory. The win continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Stingrays: they've now won six in a row.
Escondido Charter got a massive performance out of Zaliyah Jones, who scored four runs and stole Two bases. while going 4-for-4. Jones continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Selena Salas, who scored two runs and stole Three bases. while going 3-for-4.
Bishop's pushed their record up to 6-1-1 with the victory, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.8 runs over those games. As for Escondido Charter, their win bumped their record up to 7-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Bishop's hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Escondido Charter struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Bishop's suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Escondido Charter in their previous matchup back in May of 2023. Will Bishop's have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
