Baseball Game Preview: Merced Bears vs. Golden Valley Cougars

The Merced Bears will challenge the Golden Valley Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Monday.

Merced came up short against Los Banos on Friday, falling 11-3.

Merced saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Bryce Jimenez, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one double. Luis Pineda also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Golden Valley, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Buhach Colony on Friday, sneaking past 5-3.

Golden Valley's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-6. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.3 runs over those games. As for Merced, they have been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last eight games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 4-7 record this season.