The Santa Rosa Academy Rangers will challenge the Nuview Bridge Knights at 3:15 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Santa Rosa Academy took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand California Military Institute a 16-0 shutout.
Luke Erbacher
| 04/09/25 vs California Military Institute | 10 |
| 03/14/24 @ California Military Institute | 5 |
| 03/27/25 @ Cornerstone Christian | 3 |
| 03/20/25 vs Cornerstone Christian | 2 |
| 04/22/24 @ Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac Catholic School | 2 |
Santa Rosa Academy got a great performance from Luke Erbacher as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Those ten strikeouts gave Erbacher a new career-high.
At the plate, Santa Rosa Academy let Luke Hamilton and Dominic Zagone run wild. Hamilton scored four runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2, while Zagone scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. Those three runs gave Zagone a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jackson Morace, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.
Santa Rosa Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .588. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Nuview Bridge came tearing into Monday's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Mustangs as they made off with a 12-1 win.
Ethan Rivera and Johnny Aguiluz made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Rivera tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Aguiluz struck out nine batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has become a key player for Nuview Bridge: the team is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 5-7 otherwise. At bat, Rivera scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Aguiluz scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nelson Lara, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Carson Lagor, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Santa Rosa Academy has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for Nuview Bridge, they pushed their record up to 8-7 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Santa Rosa Academy has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Nuview Bridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Santa Rosa Academy skirted past Nuview Bridge 4-2 in their previous meeting back in March. Will the Rangers repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
