The East Central Hornets will challenge the Johnson Jaguars at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (East Central 3.9, Johnson 3.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
East Central is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They were the clear victors by a 12-6 margin over Lake Travis. The Hornets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 16 matchups by six runs or more this season.
Jenise Ramirez made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. Ramirez was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March.
In other pitching news, Nevaeh Garza tossed a big game, pitching 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits.
Izzy Estrada
| 05/09/25 vs Lake Travis | 3 |
| 05/08/25 vs Lake Travis | 1 |
| 05/03/25 vs San Benito | 1 |
| 05/02/25 vs San Benito | 1 |
| 04/24/25 @ Alexander | 1 |
| + 8 more games |
Back at the plate, East Central let Izzy Estrada and Isabella Hernandez run wild. Estrada went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double, while Hernandez went 3-for-4 with four RBI. That's the most hits Estrada has posted since back in March. Kyana Escobedo-Lipardo was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs and two doubles.
East Central was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .321 or higher in three consecutive games.
Taft typically has all the answers at home, but on Saturday Johnson proved too difficult a challenge. They came out on top against the Raiders by a score of 7-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Jaguars.
Johnson also got a great performance from Brianna Kirkup as she didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. Kirkup has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Kinlee McGuire and Mia Ruiz did most of the damage at the plate: McGuire went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and one run, while Ruiz went 1-for-3 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Emree Massaad, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs.
East Central has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 22-11 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Johnson, their win bumped their record up to 28-5-1.
East Central couldn't quite finish off Johnson in their previous meeting back in April and fell 2-0. Can the Hornets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
