The Buena Park Coyotes will face off against the Katella Knights at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Buena Park will aim to continue their four-game streak of scoring more runs each game than the last.
Buena Park is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Laguna Hills get on the board and left with a 14-0 win on Wednesday. The result was nothing new for the Coyotes, who have now won eight contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Mia Gonzalez was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 15 over five innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Layla Hinojos, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4. Calista Beltran was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Buena Park was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .560. They are 6-2 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Katella had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. They came out on top against the Eagles by a score of 10-7.
Dani Neville spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered seven earned runs on 12 hits and racked up nine Ks. Those nine strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.
At the plate, Nataly Rodarte was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Jackie Morelos, who scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Buena Park's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-8. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Katella, the victory got them back to even at 9-9.
Katella's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Buena Park has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.1 hits per game. It's a different story for Katella, though, as they've been averaging 8.7 hits. Given Buena Park's sizable advantage in that area, the Knights will need to find a way to close that gap.
Buena Park took their win against Katella in their previous matchup back in March of 2022 by a conclusive 7-1 score. Will the Coyotes repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
