The Valley Christian Defenders will head out on the road to face off against the Gahr Gladiators at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Valley Christian is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10.3 runs per game this season.
Valley Christian was handed a heart-breaking two-run loss in their last contest, but they sure didn't let that happen against Maranatha on Thursday. The Defenders were the clear victors by an 18-2 margin over the Minutemen. The Defenders haven't had any issues with the Minutemen recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.
Lesal Charley
| 04/10/25 @ Maranatha | 3 |
| 03/12/25 vs Crescenta Valley | 1 |
| 02/27/25 vs El Rancho | 1 |
| 02/22/25 vs Ocean View | 1 |
| 02/22/25 vs Garden Grove | 1 |
Lesal Charley looked comfortable as she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (three).
On the hitting side, Tallulah Ireland was a standout: she went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Molly Douglas, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with four RBI, two doubles, and one run.
Valley Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .780. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Gahr had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Rams 4-2.
Isabelle Gonzalez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on six hits.
At the plate, Lea Hilbert was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Mya Laroya, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
The win got Gahr back to even at 10-10-2. As for Valley Christian, their record now sits at 12-3.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Valley Christian hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.9 home runs per game. However, it's not like Gahr struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
