Softball Game Preview: Mission Viejo Diablos vs. Dana Hills Dolphins

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Previous Games

04/11/24 - Away	6-2 W
03/19/24 - Home	10-0 W
04/13/23 - Home	13-0 W
03/27/23 - Away	9-2 W
04/25/22 - Away	11-0 W
+ 5 more games

Mission Viejo is 8-2 against Dana Hills since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Diablos will be playing at home against the Dolphins at 4:00 p.m.

On Wednesday, Mission Viejo came up short against Santa Margarita and fell 7-3.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Dana Hills). They were the clear victors by an 18-6 margin over Laguna Hills last Tuesday. The Dolphins have beaten the Hawks the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Hawks has come to flipping the script.

Peyton Prince made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up four earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Those eight strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, getting no hits from her three at bats.

In other batting news, Dana Hills got a massive performance out of Katie Erenyi, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3. That's the most hits Erenyi has posted since back in February. Hailey Reed was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.

Dana Hills was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Laguna Hills only posted a batting average of .190.

Dana Hills pushed their record up to 10-7 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Mission Viejo, they have been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 10-11 record this season.

Mission Viejo was able to grind out a solid victory over Dana Hills in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 6-2. Will the Diablos repeat their success, or do the Dolphins have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.