Softball Game Preview: Christian Patriots vs. Eastlake Titans

The Christian Patriots will square off against the Eastlake Titans at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Christian 3.2, Eastlake 2.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They never let Monache get on the board and left with a 1-0 victory.

Alyssa McCurty made a splash no matter where she played. She pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one RBI.

In other pitching news, Ava Barrios looked comfortable as she didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.

Meanwhile, Eastlake entered their tilt with Westlake on Friday with five consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with six. They walked away with a 3-0 win over the Warriors. Three seems to be a good number for the Titans as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Not much got past Addison Suriano, who gave up just five hits to keep Westlake off the board.

At the plate, Eastlake's win was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ryan Pham, who went 2-for-4 with one run. That's the most hits Pham has posted since back in April.

Christian pushed their record up to 24-8-1 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.6 runs over those games. As for Eastlake, their victory bumped their record up to 22-11-1.

Christian was able to grind out a solid win over Eastlake when the teams last played back in March, winning 7-2. Do the Patriots have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Titans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.