vs
| 05/09/24 - Home | 14-4 W |
| 04/23/24 - Away | 6-2 W |
| 05/09/23 - Home | 9-5 W |
| 04/20/23 - Away | 12-2 W |
| 05/03/22 - Away | 14-1 W |
| + 5 more games |
Notre Dame is 9-1 against Castilleja since March of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. Notre Dame will face off against Castilleja at 4:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Notre Dame barely beat Mercy the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Notre Dame was the clear victor by a 7-0 margin over Mercy on Wednesday. The Regents haven't had any issues with the Bears recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Anya Shah made a splash while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 13 over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kamille Beals, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. Alex Vera was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, Castilleja narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past El Camino 9-7.
Like Notre Dame, Castilleja also got a great game from a two-way player: Raina Kapadia. On the mound, she struck out 14 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and five unearned) runs off four hits. With that strong performance, Kapadia is now averaging an impressive 6.7 strikeouts per game. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Katherine Cheng was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Anya Delal, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Notre Dame pushed their record up to 6-6 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 11.67 hits in those games compared to only 4.89 in the others. As for Castilleja, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
Everything went Notre Dame's way against Castilleja in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as Notre Dame made off with a 14-4 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Notre Dame since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
