For the first time this season, St. John will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They are taking a road trip to take on the Houston Christian Mustangs at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
St. John's took a loss when they played away from home two weeks ago, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They never let First Baptist Christian get on the board and left with a 16-0 win. The Mavericks haven't had any issues with the Warriors recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Houston Christian). They put the hurt on Emery/Weiner with a sharp 18-2 win on Friday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Emma Estrada was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs while going 2-for-2. Those three runs gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Maddie Pickett, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, two doubles, and one triple. That's the most doubles she has posted since back in April of 2024. Emmy Koehler was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Houston Christian hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Houston Christian is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-6 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.5 runs on average over those games. St. John's record now sits at 6-4-1.
Everything went St. John's way against Houston Christian when the teams last played back in February, as St. John's made off with a 12-1 victory. Will St. John's repeat their success, or does Houston Christian has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
