vs
| 03/14/25 - Away | 0-1 L |
| 03/11/25 - Home | 4-7 L |
| 04/15/24 - Away | 0-4 L |
| 03/14/24 - Home | 4-6 L |
| 03/11/24 - Away | 11-7 W |
| + 5 more games |
Shadow Hills and Xavier Prep are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2022, but likely not for long. The Knights will welcome the Saints at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Shadow Hills 4.1, Xavier Prep 2.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Xavier Prep will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Shadow Hills extended their winning streak to three on Wednesday. The Knights walked away with a 6-2 win over Palm Springs.
Alex Arizaga made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out seven over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in February. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Arizaga wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Nicholas Rodriquez, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Mario Valenzuela was another, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Shadow Hills hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Xavier Prep was able to grind out a solid victory over Big Bear on Thursday, taking the game 9-6. The win continues a trend for the Saints in their matchups with the Bears: they've now won three in a row.
Like Shadow Hills, Xavier Prep also got a great game from a two-way player: Vanjuan Vladimirov. He pitched 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off five hits. Vladimirov was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Elijah Castro was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing five bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of Xavier Prep's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 6-7 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Hyun Jun Kim, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
The victory got Shadow Hills back to even at 8-8. As for Xavier Prep, their win bumped their record up to 9-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Shadow Hills has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Xavier Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
