The Mission Hills Grizzlies will take on the Imperial Tigers in a tournament on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Mission Hills 3.6, Imperial 1.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Mission Hills saw some tournament action on Monday. They fell just short of Bonita Vista by a score of 3-1. The contest marked the Grizzlies' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Oloa Motas spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on seven hits and racked up six Ks. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Mission Hills saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Penelope Morales, who went 1-for-4 with one RBI.
Even though they lost, Mission Hills 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 four strikeouts in seven consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Imperial came tearing into Tuesday's contest with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Bulldogs a 10-0 shutout. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by seven runs or more this season.
Imperial let Mirella Barron and Addison Clark run wild. Barron went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one double, while Clark scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-4. Caroline Magdaleno also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Imperial's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-2. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for Mission Hills, their loss dropped their record down to 7-4.
Everything went Mission Hills' way against Imperial in their previous meeting back in February of 2022, as Mission Hills made off with a 12-2 win. Does Mission Hills have another victory up their sleeve, or will Imperial turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
