Softball Game Preview: Mission Viejo Diablos vs. Aliso Niguel Wolverines

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Previous Games

04/01/25 - Home	4-3 W
04/18/24 - Home	9-5 W
03/26/24 - Away	5-3 W
04/20/23 - Away	1-4 L
03/28/23 - Home	3-2 W
+ 5 more games

Mission Viejo is 8-2 against Aliso Niguel since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Diablos will head out on the road to face off against the Wolverines at 4:00 p.m. Neither of those teams managed to put together many runs in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.

Tuesday just wasn't the day for Mission Viejo's offense. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Capistrano Valley on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Aliso Niguel also suffered a loss in their last game, falling to Etiwanda by a score of 6-1.

Aliso Niguel got a good showing from Olivia Kuhnel, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the first time Kuhnel hasn't allowed a single hit since back in April of 2024.

On the hitting side, Tessa Cowsill made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with one home run.

Aliso Niguel dropped their record down to 12-11-1 with the loss, which was their third straight on the road. As for Mission Viejo, their defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 11-12.

Mission Viejo came out on top in a nail-biter against Aliso Niguel in their previous matchup on April 1st, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Diablos since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.