The Royal Highlanders will take on the Kennedy Fighting Irish at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Royal is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 17-11 margin over Citrus Valley. The Highlanders' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Marilyn Augusta
| 05/15/25 @ Citrus Valley | 3 |
| 03/21/25 vs St. Bonaventure | 2 |
| 03/20/25 @ Oak Park | 2 |
| 04/29/25 @ Camarillo | 1 |
| 04/25/25 vs Oaks Christian | 1 |
Royal let Skylar Gapol and Marilyn Augusta run wild. Gapol went 4-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and one double, while Augusta went 4-for-5 with three runs, four RBI, and one double. Those three runs gave Augusta a new career-high. Emily Albert also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Royal was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .486. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Kennedy got the win against Beaumont on Thursday by a conclusive 9-1.
Emory Cheng made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching seven innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits. Cheng was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Katie Torrez, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Another player making a difference was Sydney Batalon, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Kennedy has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-15 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Royal, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 13-11.
