The Newport Harbor Sailors will head out to square off against the Capistrano Valley Cougars at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Newport Harbor's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs every time they've taken the field this season.
Newport Harbor's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They put the hurt on Laguna Hills with a sharp 13-0 victory. That's two games straight that the Sailors have won by exactly 13 runs.
The team relied heavily on Dominique Bettencourt, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Alexis Vanhorn, who scored two runs while getting on base in two of her three plate appearances.
Newport Harbor hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most two strikeouts every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, Capistrano Valley unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Thursday. They fell just short of Villa Park by a score of 6-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Cougars have suffered since February 29, 2024.
Addison Day made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That triple marked the first that she hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Micayla Turi, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Newport Harbor's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 3-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 runs over those games. As for Capistrano Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 3-2.
Saturday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Newport Harbor hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .452. However, it's not like Capistrano Valley struggles in that department as they've averaged .353. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Newport Harbor came out on top in a nail-biter against Capistrano Valley in their previous meeting back in April of 2022, sneaking past 3-1. Will Newport Harbor repeat their success, or does Capistrano Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
