The American Heritage Patriots will square off against the Cardinal Newman Crusaders at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. American Heritage is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
On Friday, American Heritage had just enough and edged out West Broward 3-2. That's two games straight that the Patriots have won by just one run.
Lyric Rodriguez
| 03/07/25 vs West Broward | 6 |
| 02/18/25 vs Cooper City | 5 |
| 02/29/24 vs Palm Beach Central | 5 |
| 03/05/25 @ Cardinal Gibbons | 4 |
| 02/27/25 @ Pembroke Pines Charter | 4 |
Lyric Rodriguez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on seven hits and racked up six Ks. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in strikeouts.
At the plate, Bria Villano was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one home run. Another player making a difference was Brooke Gleicher, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one RBI.
Meanwhile, everything went Cardinal Newman's way against Forest Hill on Friday as Cardinal Newman made off with a 16-1 victory. The win continues a trend for the Crusaders in their matchups with the Falcons: they've now won six in a row.
Elle Perrotto made a big impact no matter where she played. She pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Perrotto was even better at the plate, going 2-for-3 with five RBI, one triple, and one run. That triple marked the first that she hit this season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Reese Khanna, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two triples, three runs, and four RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Annabelle Walsh, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3.
Cardinal Newman kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They are 2-1 when they post 11 or more hits.
Cardinal Newman's victory was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-4. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to strikeouts: they averaged an imposing 9.22 strikeouts in those games compared to only two in the others. As for American Heritage, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.
Monday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. American Heritage hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .370. However, it's not like Cardinal Newman struggles in that department as they've averaged .362. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
