The Johnson Jaguars will square off against the East Central Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Johnson's pitching crew has only allowed 3.7 runs per game this season, so East Central's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Johnson is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They came out on top against Taft by a score of 7-4. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Jaguars.
Johnson got a great performance from Brianna Kirkup as she didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. Kirkup has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.
Kinlee McGuire
| 05/10/25 @ Taft | 3 |
| 04/26/25 vs Laredo LBJ | 2 |
| 04/25/25 vs Laredo LBJ | 2 |
| 04/08/25 vs East Central | 1 |
| 03/28/25 vs Canyon | 1 |
On the hitting side, Johnson let Kinlee McGuire and Mia Ruiz run wild. McGuire went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and one run, while Ruiz went 1-for-3 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those three RBI gave McGuire a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Emree Massaad, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs.
Meanwhile, East Central's hitters rose to the challenge against a Cavaliers pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.73 runs allowed on Friday. The Hornets blew past Lake Travis 12-6. The result was nothing new for the Hornets, who have now won 16 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Jenise Ramirez was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. Ramirez was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
In other pitching news, Nevaeh Garza tossed a big game, pitching 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits.
Back at the plate, Izzy Estrada and Isabella Hernandez did most of the damage at the plate: Estrada went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double, while Hernandez went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Kyana Escobedo-Lipardo also deserves some recognition as she hit her first doubles of the season.
East Central was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .321 or higher in three consecutive matchups.
East Central is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 22-11 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.7 runs over those games. As for Johnson, their record is now 28-5-1.
Johnson skirted past East Central 2-0 in their previous matchup back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Jaguars since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
