Animo Leadership entered their tilt with Animo City of Champions on Thursday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They blew past the Wildcats 18-4. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 16-4 back in March.
Salvador Lopez
| 04/10/25 @ Animo City of Champions | 5 |
| 04/04/25 vs Shalhevet | 3 |
| 03/17/25 vs Rolling Hills Prep | 2 |
| 02/27/25 @ Inglewood | 5 |
Salvador Lopez made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in February. He was even better at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. Animo Leadership is undefeated when Lopez posts two or more runs, but 6-11 otherwise.
In other batting news, Alex Jimenez was a standout: he scored three runs and stole five bases while going 3-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted over his last 11 matchups. The team also got some help courtesy of Axel Serrano, who scored two runs and stole four bases while going 2-for-3.
Animo Leadership was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .519. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .485 or higher in three consecutive games.
The victory got Animo Leadership back to even at 11-11. As for Animo City of Champions, their loss was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 0-9.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Animo Leadership will venture away from home to challenge Animo Venice at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. The Pirates have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 10.63 runs per game on average), something the Aztec Eagles will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Animo City of Champions, they will get a bit of extra time to process the defeat as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Hawthorne Math & Science Academy at 3:15 p.m. on the 28th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
