Softball Game Preview: El Rancho Dons vs. Whittier Cardinals

El Rancho has gone a perfect 10-0 against Whittier recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Wednesday. The Dons will head out on the road to face off against the Cardinals at 3:15 p.m. El Rancho is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7 runs per game this season.

El Rancho was handed a seven-run loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Monday. They skirted past Santa Fe 5-4. The Dons haven't had any issues with the Chiefs recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Lesly Valdez

Hits

05/05/25 vs Santa Fe	3
04/29/25 vs California	0
04/25/25 vs Mark Keppel	2
04/24/25 @ La Serna	2
04/17/25 @ Santa Fe	2
+ 6 more games

Lesly Valdez was excellent, going 3-for-4 with one triple, one double, and one RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Melony Ramirez, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.

El Rancho was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .414. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Santa Fe only posted a batting average of .267.

Meanwhile, Whittier fell victim to California and their airtight pitching crew on Monday. They came up short against the Condors, falling 11-0. While getting shut out isn't ideal, the Cardinals haven't been shut out since back in March.

El Rancho's victory bumped their record up to 15-9-1. As for Whittier, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-17.

El Rancho came out on top in a nail-biter against Whittier in their previous meeting two weeks ago, sneaking past 7-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Dons since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.