The Arlington Lions will face off against the Valley Christian Defenders at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. Arlington is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last six games.
Arlington is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They skirted past Woodbridge 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Lions have posted since March 10th.
Itzel Hernandez spent all 13 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on ten hits and racked up 18 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
Ryleigh Pliego
| 05/15/25 vs Woodbridge | 5 |
| 02/24/25 vs Patriot | 4 |
| 03/12/24 @ Norte Vista | 4 |
| 04/29/25 @ JW North | 3 |
| 04/15/25 @ Heritage | 3 |
At the plate, Ryleigh Pliego was incredible, going 5-for-7 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. Those five hits gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lorena Ricasa, who went 2-for-6 with two stolen bases and one RBI.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Arlington kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 12 hits in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Valley Christian, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Wednesday. They never let Don Lugo get on the board and left with a 12-0 win on Thursday. Considering the Defenders have won 13 contests by more than nine runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Valley Christian also got a great performance from Rachel Zhang as she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Jewel Malae was a standout: she went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and two runs. Another player making a difference was Kayla Martin, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
Arlington pushed their record up to 17-5 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Valley Christian, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-6-1 record this season.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Arlington hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Valley Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
