The Carter Lions will challenge the Jurupa Hills Spartans at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Carter is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on San Gorgonio with a sharp 16-8 victory on Wednesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Lions with their most commanding win of the season.
Fernando Rodriguez made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. Rodriguez was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base. He also put up an RBI, which was his first of the season.
In other pitching news, Andrew Roman looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. That hit marked the first that he allowed this season.
Angel Acevedo
| 04/02/25 vs San Gorgonio | 2 |
| 02/22/25 vs Ontario Christian | 2 |
| 02/19/25 vs Valley View | 2 |
| 03/17/25 vs Rialto | 1 |
Back at the plate, Angel Acevedo was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of Carter's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 2-1 (and 1-4 when he doesn't). Alex Saravia was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Carter always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .548. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Jurupa Hills, who bounced back after a loss on the road back in March. They came out on top against Colton on Wednesday by a score of 8-1 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game). The result was nothing new for the Spartans, who have now won six matchups by seven runs or more so far this season.
Alejandro Preciado was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Those ten strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one triple and two RBI.
In other pitching news, Alfredo Hernandez looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three).
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Aaden Lopez, who scored four runs and stole four bases while going 4-for-4. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Matthew Toscano, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Jurupa Hills' win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-2. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Carter, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 3-5.
Everything went Carter's way against Jurupa Hills in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, as Carter made off with a 10-3 victory. Do the Lions have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Spartans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
