Softball Recap: Palm Desert Find Success

Palm Desert won against Palm Springs on Tuesday with 11 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Wednesday. Palm Desert won by a run and slipped past the San Jacinto Tigers 11-10. That's more bragging rights for the Aztecs, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.

Aaliyah Tapia was a major factor no matter where she played. She tossed three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Tapia was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-5.

Lilah Velasquez

Runs Batted In

03/26/25 @ San Jacinto	4
03/11/25 vs Rancho Mirage	2
03/04/25 vs La Quinta	1
03/01/25 vs Palm Springs	2
02/26/25 vs Redlands	1
+ 3 more games

In other batting news, Palm Desert let Lilah Velasquez and Gwyneth Kitagawa run wild. Velasquez went 3-for-5 with four RBI, two doubles, and one run, while Kitagawa scored three runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. That's the most RBI Velasquez has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Logan Fimbres, who scored a run while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.

The victory made it two in a row for Palm Desert and bumps their season record up to 6-8. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 3-8 Palm Springs and 6-7 San Jacinto. As for San Jacinto, they have been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last nine matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 6-7 record this season.

Palm Desert will square off against Palm Springs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Palm Springs has struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 13.82 runs per game on average), something Palm Desert will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for San Jacinto, they will take on Temescal Canyon at 3:15 p.m. on Friday. San Jacinto's pitchers better be ready for this one: Temescal Canyon has averaged an impressive 6.8 runs per game this season.