La Quinta came into this matchup off a tough 14-run defeat on Wednesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of the Loara Saxons by a score of 7-5 on Friday. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Saxons this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 6-2 on April 2nd.
Julainy Castanon spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and six unearned) runs on seven hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Kailey Huynh made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. Raellie Faatuga was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three RBI.
This is the second loss in a row for La Quinta and nudges their season record down to 5-9. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 10-3 Santa Ana Valley (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 63.5% over those games). As for Loara, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-8 record this season.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. La Quinta will challenge Westminster at 3:15 p.m. on Monday. The Aztecs' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Lions have averaged an impressive 7.1 runs per game this season. As for Loara, they will welcome Santa Ana Valley at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The Saxons' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Falcons have averaged an impressive 11.1 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
