Softball Game Preview: Academy for Academic Excellence Knights vs. Excelsior Charter Eagles

For the second straight game, Academy for Academic Excellence will face off against Excelsior Charter. The Knights will be playing at home against the Eagles at 3:15 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Academy for Academic Excellence has seven straight victories, Excelsior Charter has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Academy for Academic Excellence is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Excelsior Charter a 30-0 shutout on Wednesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Knights with their most commanding win of the season.

Haylee Berg

Batters Struck Out

04/01/26 @ Excelsior Charter	10
03/23/26 vs Academy of Careers & Exploration	10
03/16/26 @ Academy of Careers & Exploration	12
03/10/26 @ Hesperia	7
03/05/26 @ Granite Hills	6
+ 5 more games

Haylee Berg was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out ten over five innings pitched. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 5.1 strikeouts per game. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 5-for-5 with six RBI, four runs, and three doubles. That's the most doubles she has posted since back in April of 2025.

In other batting news, Academy for Academic Excellence got a massive performance out of Kayla Berg, who got on base in all six of her plate appearances with six RBI, four runs, and two doubles. That's the most doubles Berg has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Victoria McGowan, who got on base in all six of her plate appearances with four runs, three RBI, and one stolen base.

Academy for Academic Excellence kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 26 hits. They are 8-1 when they post 11 or more hits.

Academy for Academic Excellence's win bumped their record up to 10-4. As for Excelsior Charter, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-1.