The Hesperia Scorpions will square off against the Academy for Academic Excellence Knights at 3:30 p.m. on Monday. Hesperia will be strutting in after a victory while Academy for Academic Excellence will be coming in after a defeat.
On Saturday, it was close, but Hesperia sidestepped Victor Valley for a 15-14 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Scorpions.
Malena Griego was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off four hits. Griego was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Marlie Munoz was a standout: she scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Angie Villolobos, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Hesperia was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .429. The last time their batting average was this high was back in February of 2024.
Meanwhile, Academy for Academic Excellence didn't have quite enough to beat Adelanto on Wednesday and fell 4-3.
Like Hesperia, Academy for Academic Excellence also got a great game from a two-way player: Emily Garcia. On the mound, she pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Garcia was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of her three plate appearances.
Garcia wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Kayla Berg, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Academy for Academic Excellence's loss dropped their record down to 1-1. As for Hesperia, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Hesperia might still be hurting after the 19-2 defeat they got from Academy for Academic Excellence when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can Hesperia avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
