Newbury Park is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Oaks Christian is on a six-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Panthers will welcome the Lions at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Newbury Park is headed into the match having just posted their closest victory since April 26, 2024 on Monday. They won by a run and slipped past Buena 5-4. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Newbury Park got a great performance from Veronica Wasserman as she struck out six batters over 4.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits (and not a single walk).
At the plate, Janessa Gutierrez was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three runs, and one double. That's the most runs she has posted since back in March. Lily Johnson was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Oaks Christian ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 victory over Valencia.
Sophia Debs spent all nine innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up seven Ks.
On the hitting side, Oaks Christian saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Reagan Beck, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one run.
Oaks Christian is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.2 runs over those games. As for Newbury Park, their victory bumped their record up to 15-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Newbury Park hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Oaks Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Newbury Park came up short against Oaks Christian in their previous meeting back in April, falling 9-4. Will the Panthers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
