vs
| 04/23/25 - Home | 4-5 L |
| 05/02/24 - Home | 5-0 W |
| 04/16/24 - Away | 3-2 W |
| 03/23/24 - Neutral | 5-2 W |
| 05/02/23 - Away | 3-2 W |
| + 5 more games |
Del Norte is 8-2 against Mission Hills since May of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Nighthawks will challenge the Grizzlies at 3:30 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Del Norte 3.8, Mission Hills 3.3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Del Norte is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Poway with a sharp 12-3 win on Wednesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Ava Giaime made a splash no matter where she played. She tossed 6.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off seven hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Taylor Maeda and Lainey LLamas did most of the damage at the plate: Maeda went 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs, while LLamas went 3-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one double. Those four RBI gave Maeda a new career-high. Carissa Camaclang was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Del Norte kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 19 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Mission Hills hadn't done well against Rancho Bernardo recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. The Grizzlies sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 win over the Broncos. The game was the first time the Grizzlies have beaten the Broncos on their field since June 2, 2021.
Mission Hills' victory was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Kennedy Dimmick, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Mission Hills is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.1 runs over those games. As for Del Norte, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-8-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Del Norte hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Mission Hills struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
