Baseball Game Preview: Citrus Hill Hawks vs. Moreno Valley Vikings

The Citrus Hill Hawks will venture away from home to square off against the Moreno Valley Vikings at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. Citrus Hill's pitching crew has only allowed 2.6 runs per game this season, so Moreno Valley's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

The home team had come away the winner the last six times Citrus Hill and Hemet had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Hawks won by a run and slipped past the Bulldogs 5-4. That's two games straight that the Hawks have won by just one run.

Efren Urrea spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on two hits.

Kaden Farmer

Hits (Career)

04/23/25 @ Hemet	2
04/15/25 vs Orange Vista	1
04/10/25 vs Heritage	1
04/05/25 vs Tahquitz	1
04/03/25 @ JW North	1

On the hitting side, Riley Corlew and Kaden Farmer did most of the damage at the plate: Corlew went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run, while Farmer went 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Those two hits gave Farmer a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Zamora, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.

Meanwhile, Moreno Valley hadn't done well against Heritage recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The Vikings put the hurt on the Patriots with a sharp 12-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Vikings, who have now won seven matches by seven runs or more so far this season.

D. McCauley was incredible, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with four RBI, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was JJ Vazquez, who went 2-for-5 with two runs and one stolen base.

Moreno Valley is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-8 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.6 runs over those games. As for Citrus Hill, their record now sits at 13-5.