Baseball Game Preview: Cardinal Newman Cardinals vs. Rancho Cotate Cougars

Cardinal Newman is a perfect 10-0 against Rancho Cotate since March of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. A feisty cat fight will be fought as Cardinal Newman Cardinals face off against Rancho Cotate Cougars at 4:00 p.m. Cardinal Newman's pitching crew has only allowed 3.1 runs per game this season, so Rancho Cotate's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Cardinal Newman gave up the first runs on Saturday, but they didn't let that get them down. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Casa Grande 4-3.

Mason Farrell

Batters Struck Out (Career)

03/29/25 vs Casa Grande	2
04/25/24 vs Rancho Cotate	1
03/28/24 vs Granite Bay	1
03/23/24 vs Granada	1

Mason Farrell looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (two).

On the hitting side, Matai Fa'agata was excellent, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. Jacob Wood also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

Meanwhile, Saturday just wasn't the day for Rancho Cotate's offense. They fell 4-0 to Petaluma on Saturday. The Cougars have struggled against the Trojans recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost meeting.

Rancho Cotate had to settle for second despite strong performances on the mound from Aiden O'Sullivan and Blake Kearney O'Sullivan tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits, while Kearney tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Kearney has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Rancho Cotate saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gauge Cummings, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base.

Rancho Cotate's loss dropped their record down to 7-5. As for Cardinal Newman, the win got them back to even at 4-4-1.

Cardinal Newman took their victory against Rancho Cotate in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 13-2. Does Cardinal Newman have another victory up their sleeve, or will Rancho Cotate turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.