The Santa Fe Christian Eagles will take on the Mission Hills Grizzlies in a tournament on Wednesday. Santa Fe Christian's pitching crew has only allowed 4.1 runs per game this season, so Mission Hills' hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Santa Fe Christian fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against San Ysidro on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Cougars by a score of 5-3. The Eagles have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Riley Nelson
| 04/01/25 vs San Ysidro | 2 |
| 03/18/25 vs Torrey Pines | 1 |
| 03/15/25 vs Madison | 1 |
Riley Nelson was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed five innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Colin Roche was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. That stolen base marked the first that he snagged this season. Kyle Plasman was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mission Hills). They came out on top against Steele Canyon by a score of 6-1 on Tuesday.
Jaxson Jenkins and Nate Sheriff made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Jenkins struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Meanwhile, Sheriff tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Jenkins is becoming a predictor of Mission Hills' success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 2-1 (and 2-5 when he doesn't). At bat, Jenkins went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI, while Sheriff scored two runs while going 1-for-2. Those two runs gave Sheriff a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Preston Waller, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Mission Hills hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Steele Canyon struck out 11 times.
Mission Hills is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Santa Fe Christian, their loss dropped their record down to 5-5.
Santa Fe Christian suffered a grim 11-4 defeat to Mission Hills when the teams last played back in March of 2023. Will the Eagles have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
