The St. Joseph Knights will square off against the Templeton Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The timing is sure in St. Joseph's favor as the squad sits on 16 straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Templeton has been banged up by seven consecutive losses on the road also dating back to last season.
St. Joseph had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 13-run drubbing they dealt Mission College Prep on Wednesday. The Knights put the hurt on the Royals with a sharp 14-1 win. The Knights might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matchups by nine runs or more this season.
Khandi Rodriguez looked comfortable as she pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
Kaycie Gavlak
| 04/15/26 @ Mission College Prep | 3 |
| 04/01/26 vs Lompoc | 2 |
| 03/20/26 vs Mission College Prep | 2 |
| 04/25/25 vs Gregori | 2 |
| 03/26/25 vs Cabrillo | 2 |
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kaycie Gavlak, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Those three runs gave her a new career-high. Emily Cervantes was another key player, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
St. Joseph hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in 16 consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Templeton came up short against Lompoc on Wednesday, falling 7-1.
Templeton saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Aislyn Vogt, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Templeton's loss dropped their record down to 4-15-1. As for St. Joseph, their victory bumped their record up to 17-3-1.
Templeton's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: St. Joseph has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.8 hits per game. It's a different story for Templeton, though, as they've been averaging 11.4 hits. Given St. Joseph's sizable advantage in that area, the Eagles will need to find a way to close that gap.
St. Joseph got the 'W' in their previous meeting back in March against Templeton by a conclusive 9-0 score. Will the Knights repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
