The Taft Raiders will challenge the Brennan Bears at 7:15 p.m. on Monday. Taft will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each contest than the last.
Taft will bounce into Monday's game after beating Harlan, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Raiders walked away with a 6-3 win over the Hawks on Friday. That's two games straight that the Raiders have won by exactly three runs.
Carlos Nieto spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits and racked up eight Ks.
Justin Parks
| 04/10/26 vs Harlan | 3 |
| 02/28/26 vs Mission Veterans Memorial | 3 |
| 02/27/26 vs McAllen | 2 |
| 02/21/26 vs Wagner | 2 |
| 02/21/26 vs Pieper | 2 |
| + 4 more games |
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Justin Parks, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base. Taft is undefeated when Parks posts two or more runs, but 6-12 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Chace Jefferson, who went 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last matchup, Brennan made sure to put some runs up on the board against Bracken Christian on Saturday. The Bears put the hurt on the Warriors with a sharp 10-4 victory. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Bears' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Drew Martinez looked comfortable as he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, Antonio Nunez was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, one double, and one RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March. Cayden Glass was another key player, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with three runs.
Brennan has been performing well recently as they've won 11 of their last 13 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Taft, their victory bumped their record up to 11-12.
Taft couldn't quite get it done against Brennan in their previous meeting back in April of 2025 as they fell 13-8. Can the Raiders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
