It'll be a Battle of the Birds when Santa Ana Valley Falcons face off against Estancia Eagles at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Santa Ana Valley will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
Santa Ana Valley made up a huge gap compared to their last game against La Quinta, but they still couldn't quite topple them. Santa Ana Valley put the hurt on La Quinta with a sharp 13-0 win on Friday. Considering the Falcons have won five matchups by more than 12 runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Espy Guerrero was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. Guerrero was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in RBI (two).
In other batting news, Santa Ana Valley let Janelle Coronel and Yareli Sanchez run wild. Coronel scored three runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3, while Sanchez scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Karla Oliva, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Estancia lost 10-3 to Tustin on Monday.
Like Santa Ana Valley, Estancia also got a great game from a two-way player: Jaydin McClure. She struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up four earned (and six unearned) runs off four hits. McClure has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Peyton Thomas was cooking despite her team's loss, going 3-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one double. That triple marked the first that she hit this season.
Santa Ana Valley pushed their record up to 7-2 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Estancia, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-6.
Santa Ana Valley took their victory against Estancia when the teams last played back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 19-0. Will Santa Ana Valley repeat their success, or does Estancia has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
