The Arroyo Knights will square off against the Irvine Vaqueros at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Arroyo sitting on 11 straight wins and Irvine on six.
Arroyo is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They put the hurt on Hesperia Christian with a sharp 11-4 victory. The result was nothing new for the Knights, who have now won 13 contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
Emily Rubalcava spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on six hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Alina Linn, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Ayleen Bravo, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Irvine made easy work of Granite Hills on Saturday and carried off a 16-2 win.
Midori De Los Santos was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching five innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. De Los Santos was also solid in the batter's box, going 4-for-5 with two runs and one double. That's the most hits she has posted since back in May of 2025.
In other pitching news, Carlee Lombardo looked comfortable as she pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Back at the plate, Irvine got a massive performance out of Harper Vandermolen, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Vandermolen is on a roll when it comes to RBI, as she's now brought in three or more in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Katie Liu, who went 3-for-5 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs.
Irvine kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 21 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Irvine's victory bumped their record up to 15-16. As for Arroyo, their win bumped their record up to 19-9.
Irvine's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Arroyo has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 13.3 hits per game. It's a different story for Irvine, though, as they've been averaging 9.3 hits. Given Arroyo's sizable advantage in that area, the Vaqueros will need to find a way to close that gap. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
