The Moreno Valley Vikings will venture away from home to take on the Redlands East Valley Wildcats at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Moreno Valley 3.2, Redlands East Valley 2.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
While Moreno Valley's victory against JW North wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Vikings skirted past the Huskies 6-4. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Vikings.
J. Chavez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on four hits.
At the plate, E. Zendejas was incredible, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was D. McCauley, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Moreno Valley hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in four consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Redlands East Valley waltzed into their contest on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 3-2 W against the Terriers.
Redlands East Valley also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Cash Dabbs gave up only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits and racked up ten Ks. Dabbs has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in eight consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Ty Whittle, who went 1-for-3 with one home run. That home run marked the first that he launched this season. Arthur Chavez was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one home run.
Moreno Valley's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-6. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 1.5 runs across that stretch. As for Redlands East Valley, their record is now 10-8.
Moreno Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against Redlands East Valley in their previous matchup back in March of 2022, sneaking past 8-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Vikings since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
