Softball Game Preview: Villa Park Spartans vs. La Habra Highlanders

Villa Park hasn't had much luck against La Habra recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Spartans will welcome the Highlanders at 3:15 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with five losses in a row, Villa Park turned things around against Sunny Hills on Tuesday. They never let the Lancers get on the board and left with a 4-0 win.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask La Habra). They put the hurt on Sunny Hills with a sharp 12-0 victory on Thursday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Highlanders with their most commanding win of the season.

Maddison Payne tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched.

At the plate, La Habra let Georgia Rickenbacker and Eliana Corona run wild. Rickenbacker scored three runs while going 2-for-4, while Corona went 1-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. That's the most runs Rickenbacker has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Rylee Gruener, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.

La Habra was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .421. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sunny Hills only posted a batting average of .200.

La Habra has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for Villa Park, their victory was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 7-9.

Villa Park suffered a grim 9-1 defeat to La Habra when the teams last played two weeks ago. Will the Spartans have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.