The Eastlake Titans are taking a road trip to square off against the Christian Patriots at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Eastlake's pitching crew has only allowed 2.2 runs per game this season, so Christian's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Eastlake is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Grossmont just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Wednesday. They took a 9-4 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Foothillers.
Eastlake saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mackenzie Olshenskie, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Another was Jaelene Jenkins, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Even though they lost, Eastlake 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 three strikeouts in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Christian had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 3-2 W against the Nighthawks. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Patriots have posted since March 4th.
Ava Barrios spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on three hits and racked up seven Ks.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Lucy Sherburne, who went 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. Ashley Wood was another key player, going 3-for-4 with one RBI.
Christian pushed their record up to 10-3-1 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for Eastlake, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-3-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Eastlake hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Eastlake was able to grind out a solid victory over Christian when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 7-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for Eastlake since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
