Maranatha is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Valley Christian is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Minutemen will host the Defenders at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Maranatha 3.5, Valley Christian 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Maranatha's tournament run continued when they took on Central Catholic on Friday. The Minutemen sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-2 win over the Raiders.
Carson Kelly
| 04/25/25 vs Central Catholic | 9 |
| 04/26/24 vs Valencia | 6 |
| 04/20/24 @ Charter Oak | 5 |
| 04/11/24 vs Whittier Christian | 5 |
| 04/04/24 vs La Mirada | 5 |
Carson Kelly tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out nine over six innings pitched. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Doug Zuniga, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That double was his first of the season.
Meanwhile, Valley Christian never let their opponents score on Thursday. They put the hurt on Heritage Christian with a sharp 10-0 victory. Considering the Defenders have won eight games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
The result came thanks to Riley Jones's shutout, as he gave up just two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Austin Abrahams was excellent, going 2-for-4 with three runs and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Seth Dahlenburg, who went 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI.
Valley Christian is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 13-9 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Maranatha, their victory bumped their record up to 15-6-1.
Maranatha took their win against Valley Christian when the teams last played back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 9-3 score. Do the Minutemen have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Defenders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
