The Encinal Jets will head out on the road to square off against the Cardinal Newman Cardinals at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Encinal has given up an average of 7.2 runs per game this season, but Tuesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Encinal came into their game on Friday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They came up short against Castro Valley, falling 12-6.
Kiely Wong made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and one double. Another player making a difference was Jazzy Alcantar, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Newman entered their tilt with Analy on Thursday with seven consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with eight. They came out on top against the Tigers by a score of 6-1.
Cienna Alvarez and Jordyn Johnsen did most of the damage at the plate: Alvarez went 2-for-3 with one home run and two runs, while Johnsen went 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. Those two runs gave Alvarez a new career-high.
Cardinal Newman hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in eight consecutive games.
Cardinal Newman pushed their record up to 15-6 with the victory, which was their seventh straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. As for Encinal, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-13.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Encinal hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Cardinal Newman struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Encinal couldn't quite finish off Cardinal Newman in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 and fell 6-4. Can the Jets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
