Villa Park is 9-1 against El Modena since May of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Spartans will welcome the Vanguards at 3:15 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Villa Park took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They skirted past Cypress 5-3.
Logan Hoppie looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single hit and allowed only two earned runs over four innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
Dominic Gutierrez
| 04/11/25 vs Cypress | 4 |
| 02/28/25 vs El Dorado | 2 |
| 02/25/25 vs Banning | 2 |
| 03/29/25 vs Laguna Beach | 1 |
| 03/28/25 vs El Dorado | 1 |
On the hitting side, Dominic Gutierrez was incredible, going 1-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Shawn Romero was another key player, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but El Modena ultimately got the result they hoped for on Saturday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past JW North 3-2. The Vanguards haven't had any issues with the Huskies recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Cash Ferinac looked comfortable as he tossed 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because El Modena is 3-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 4-11 otherwise.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Logan Honikel, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He has become a key player for El Modena: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 4-11 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Nathan Valdez, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Villa Park pushed their record up to 14-5 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for El Modena, their victory bumped their record up to 7-12.
Villa Park came out on top in a nail-biter against El Modena when the teams last played back in March, sneaking past 2-0. Do the Spartans have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vanguards turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
