The El Segundo Eagles will head out on the road to challenge the Notre Dame (SO) Knights at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
El Segundo is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Cypress 5-4. The victory was familiar territory for the Eagles, who have now won five games in a row.
Jacy Lindsay spent all nine innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on six hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Sienna Mayer, who went 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. That's the most doubles she has posted since back in February. Carter Cswaykus was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Orange Lutheran typically has all the answers at home, but on Thursday Notre Dame (SO) proved too difficult a challenge. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 9-7 win over the Lancers. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Knights have posted since March 27th.
Notre Dame (SO) also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Aliyah Garcia gave up five earned (and two unearned) runs on nine hits. Garcia is also 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.
On the hitting side, Jackie Morales was incredible, firing off three home runs and four RBI while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Nadia Ledon, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Notre Dame (SO) lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Orange Lutheran didn't launched any home runs.
El Segundo pushed their record up to 23-5 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Notre Dame (SO), the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 24-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. El Segundo 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 Notre Dame (SO) struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.3 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
El Segundo came out on top in a nail-biter against Notre Dame (SO) in their previous meeting back in February, sneaking past 6-5. Do the Eagles have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Knights turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
