Baseball Game Preview: Poly Bears vs. Arlington Lions

Poly hasn't had much luck against Arlington recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Poly Bears will head out to challenge the Arlington Lions at 11:00 a.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Poly took a eight-run defeat the last time they faced off against Liberty, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. Poly came out on top in a nail-biter against Liberty on Thursday, sneaking past 11-9. The Bears' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.

Adrian Islas and Keaton Pilliter were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Islas didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Pilliter pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Poly is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-4 otherwise. At the plate, Islas scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-4, while Pilliter scored a run while going 1-for-4. The dominant performance also gave Pilliter a new career-high in RBI (two).

Matthew Henry

Runs Batted In (Career)

03/20/25 @ Liberty	2
02/24/25 @ Cajon	1
02/22/25 @ La Quinta	1
02/13/24 vs Los Osos	1

In other batting news, Poly let Mayan De Nava and Matthew Henry run wild. De Nava scored three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances, while Henry scored a run and stole Two bases. while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave Henry a new career-high in RBI (two). Gavin Malmberg also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.

Poly kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Arlington came tearing into Thursday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Wildcats by a score of 6-1.

Arlington pushed their record up to 8-3 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Poly, their win ended an eight-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 5-4.