The Glendale Nitros will head out on the road to square off against the Heritage Christian Warriors at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Glendale has given up an average of 8.3 runs per game this season, so hopefully the team got some pitching drills in this week.
Glendale will head out to face Heritage Christian after giving up their first home loss of the season on Wednesday. Glendale came up short against South Pasadena, falling 15-4. That's two games in a row now that the Nitros have lost by exactly 11 runs.
Glendale saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jade Marquez, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Heritage Christian posted their closest victory since February 17, 2024 on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Chaminade 7-6. While the Warriors didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Brooklyn Mireles spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and five unearned) runs on five hits and racked up ten Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Aubrey Akins was a standout: she went 1-for-2 with one home run and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Erika Laufer, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Heritage Christian lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since the start of last season.
The victory made it two in a row for Heritage Christian and bumps their season record up to 6-1. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.5 runs on average over those games. As for Glendale, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-6-1.
Thursday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Glendale has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .445. However, it's not like Heritage Christian struggles in that department as they've averaged .533. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Glendale skirted past Heritage Christian 1-0 when the teams last played back in February of 2018. Will Glendale repeat their success, or does Heritage Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
