Palm Springs hasn't had much luck against Rancho Mirage recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Indians will venture away from home to challenge the Rattlers at 6:00 p.m. Palm Springs has given up an average of 7 runs per game this season, but Tuesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Palm Springs came into their game on Friday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They came up short against Palm Desert, falling 14-1.
Palm Springs saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ian Ernesto Arroyo, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Rancho Mirage had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Knights 6-4.
Marcos Ceja Jr. was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits. Ceja Jr. was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
In other pitching news, Zachary Berntsen looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Kobee Finnikin, who went 1-for-2 with three stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Jesus Gutierrez, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one RBI.
Rancho Mirage's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-11. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Palm Springs, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-19.
Palm Springs suffered a grim 12-5 defeat to Rancho Mirage when the teams last played last Friday. Can the Indians avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
