Baseball Game Preview: San Dieguito Academy Mustangs vs. Escondido Cougars

San Dieguito Academy is 2-8 against Escondido since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Mustangs will host the Cougars at 4:00 p.m. San Dieguito Academy will be strutting in after a victory while Escondido will be coming in after a loss.

San Dieguito Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Canyon Hills on Saturday as they made off with a 17-6 win. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Mustangs as it put an end to their seven-game losing streak.

Nathan Calm looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances.

Aidan Needles

Runs (Career)

04/26/25 @ Canyon Hills	3
03/04/25 @ Kearny	2
04/18/25 @ Canyon Crest Academy	1
04/01/25 vs Mar Vista	1
04/01/25 vs Elsinore	1

At the plate, San Dieguito Academy got a massive performance out of Aidan Needles, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Those three runs gave Needles a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ben Hastings, who got on base in all six of his plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Escondido has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging 3.53 runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Friday. They lost 19-4 to Ramona. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Cougars have suffered against the Bulldogs since May 12, 2018.

Escondido saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kaden Hermsen, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI.

Escondido's loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 15-4. As for San Dieguito Academy, their win bumped their record up to 5-16.