Softball Recap: Marina Takes Down St. Paul in a Playoff Battle

Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Marina walked away with it. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the St. Paul Swordsmen 3-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Vikings have posted since March 25th.

Mia Valbuena

Batters Struck Out

05/21/25 @ St. Paul	12
05/17/25 vs San Clemente	9
05/15/25 vs Arcadia	12
05/06/25 vs Newport Harbor	5
05/05/25 @ Newport Harbor	11
+ 9 more games

Mia Valbuena spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 14 consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Eva Mazzotti was incredible, going 11-for-3 with one run. Those 11 hits gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Rachel Ruiz, who went 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI.

Marina always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .714. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Marina is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 17-13 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for St. Paul, they now have a losing record of 14-15.

Marina didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next matchup, a 4-0 victory against Yorba Linda on the 24th. St. Paul does not have any more games scheduled as of now.