Softball Game Preview: Loara Saxons vs. Buena Park Coyotes

The Loara Saxons will head out on the road to challenge the Buena Park Coyotes at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Loara made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Orange, but they still couldn't quite topple them. Loara blew past Orange 11-3 on Friday. The match marked the Saxons' most dominant win of the season so far.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Buena Park). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Crean Lutheran a 12-0 shutout on Friday. Considering the Coyotes' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.

Mia Gonzalez made a splash while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in ten consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 2-for-4.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Emma Cazares, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. Lily Phillips also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.

Buena Park kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They are 2-1 when they post 11 or more hits.

The victory made it two in a row for Loara and bumps their season record up to 3-5. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Buena Park, the victory got them back to even at 6-6.

Loara came up short against Buena Park when the teams last played back in April of 2021, falling 8-3. Can Loara avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.