Preview: Diamond Ranch Panthers vs. Covina Colts
Diamond Ranch is 0-6 against Covina since May of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Diamond Ranch Panthers will be staying on the road to face off against the Covina Colts at 3:30 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
After only two runs in their last match, Diamond Ranch made sure to put some runs up on the board against Arroyo Valley on Friday. Diamond Ranch was the clear victor by a 13-1 margin over Arroyo Valley. That looming 13-1 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Diamond Ranch yet this season.
Benny Aquino spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just one earned run on two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Diamond Ranch got a massive performance out of Keith Houdashelt, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with five RBI, a run, and a double. Sebastian De La Rocha was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Covina beat Temple City 4-1 on Thursday.
Covina also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Declan Bowers gave up just one earned run on eight hits.
On the hitting side, Covina saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jeremiah Pacheco, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Diamond Ranch's victory ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 3-4. As for Covina, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 7-5-1 record this season.
Diamond Ranch came up short against Covina when the teams last played back in April of 2023, falling 6-3. Thankfully for Diamond Ranch, Jaime Lopez (who struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up two earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
