Softball Game Preview: Big Bear Bears vs. Excelsior Charter Eagles

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Previous Games

04/25/24 - Home	3-16 L
03/29/24 - Home	4-14 L
03/27/24 - Away	5-17 L
04/20/23 - Home	3-13 L
04/18/23 - Home	9-6 W
+ 5 more games

Big Bear and Excelsior Charter are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2019, but likely not for long. The Bears will be playing in front of their home fans against the Eagles at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses for Big Bear and four for Excelsior Charter.

Big Bear is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to ten runs on Tuesday, they were much more limited against Academy for Academic Excellence on Thursday. They came up short against the Knights, falling 11-1. The match marked the Bears' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Jordan Gilligan made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-2 with one home run.

Meanwhile, Excelsior Charter came up short against Adelanto on Friday and fell 14-9.

Samantha Minghelli and Alany Esparza stepped up to the plate in a big way. Minghelli scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3, while Esparza scored two runs while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Destinee Martinez, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

Big Bear's defeat dropped their record down to 6-5. As for Excelsior Charter, they now have a losing record of 6-7-1.

Excelsior Charter's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Big Bear has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 11.3 hits per game. It's a different story for Excelsior Charter, though, as they've been averaging 9.1 hits. Given Big Bear's sizable advantage in that area, the Eagles will need to find a way to close that gap.

Big Bear might still be hurting after the 16-3 loss they got from Excelsior Charter in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.