The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders will challenge the Bonita Vista Barons at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Mater Dei Catholic will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.
On Wednesday, Mater Dei Catholic beat Eastlake 5-2.
Arri Romero spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on three hits and racked up ten Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 20 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Lilia Alpuche, who got on base in four of her five plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Bonita Vista, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They put the hurt on Otay Ranch with a sharp 10-4 victory on Wednesday. Considering the Barons have won nine contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Danica Aboytes was a major factor no matter where she played. She pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Aboytes was even better at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
In other pitching news, Bonita Vista got a great performance from Natalie Gonzalez as she struck out seven batters over 5.1 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits (and not a single walk).
Back at the plate, Leah Letuli was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. Another player making a difference was Kianna Balajadia-Brooks, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Bonita Vista has been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 12 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Mater Dei Catholic, their victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Mater Dei Catholic hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Bonita Vista struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Mater Dei Catholic took their win against Bonita Vista when the teams last played back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 9-1 score. Will the Crusaders repeat their success, or do the Barons have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
