Softball Game Preview: Shadow Hills Knights vs. La Quinta Blackhawks

Shadow Hills hasn't had much luck against La Quinta recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Knights will head out to challenge the Blackhawks at 5:00 p.m. Shadow Hills is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 11.2 runs per game this season.

Shadow Hills had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 16-run drubbing they dealt Xavier Prep last Friday. The Knights put the hurt on the Saints with a sharp 16-0 win. The victory was nothing new for the Knights as they're now sitting on three straight.

Karla Cerda made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out six over five innings pitched. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than two hits in seven consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.

Annabelle Alvarez

Runs (Career)

04/04/25 vs Xavier Prep	3
03/27/25 vs Astoria	2
03/18/25 @ Palm Desert	2
03/07/25 vs Palm Springs	2
03/21/25 vs Palm Desert	1

In other batting news, Shadow Hills let Annabelle Alvarez and Nathalie Briceno run wild. Alvarez got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs, one triple, and two RBI, while Briceno scored three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Those three runs gave Alvarez a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Gianna Hernandez, who scored a run while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.

Shadow Hills always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .750. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Xavier Prep only posted an OBP of .111.

Meanwhile, La Quinta was able to grind out a solid win over Indio on Tuesday, taking the game 6-1.

La Quinta is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-2-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Shadow Hills, they pushed their record up to 14-2 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home.

Shadow Hills came out on top in a nail-biter against La Quinta in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. Do the Knights have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Blackhawks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.