Baseball Game Preview: Taft Wildcats vs. Minarets Mustangs

The Taft Wildcats will take on the Minarets Mustangs in a tournament on Tuesday. Minarets took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Taft, who comes in off a win.

Taft will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Saturday, then bounced right back against McLane on Monday. The Wildcats blew past the Highlanders 10-3.

Cash Clark

Base on Balls Against

03/25/25 @ Kerman	5
03/04/25 vs Ridgeview	5
03/11/25 vs Independence	3
04/08/25 vs Wasco	2
04/01/25 @ Chavez	2
+ 4 more games

Cash Clark made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off eight hits (and only one walk). He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Taft is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 4-10 otherwise. Clark was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.

In other batting news, Matthew Morse was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-2. Those two hits gave him a new career-high.

Taft was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .393. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

Meanwhile, Minarets came up short against Central Valley Christian on Monday, falling 12-2. The Mustangs have struggled against the Cavaliers recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost meeting.

Minarets' defeat dropped their record down to 7-11. As for Taft, their record is now 6-11.

Everything went Taft's way against Minarets in their previous matchup back in April of 2019, as Taft made off with a 7-1 victory. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Mustangs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.