Baseball Recap: Merced Find Success

Merced never let their opponents score on Friday. They walked away with a 5-0 win over the Golden Valley Cougars. The Bears haven't had any issues with the Cougars recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.

Bryce Jimenez

Earned Runs

04/10/26 @ Templeton	5
03/20/26 vs El Capitan	5
03/27/26 vs Los Banos	4
03/31/26 vs Sunnyside	2

Bryce Jimenez was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run over 5.1 innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Merced is undefeated when he allows at most two earned runs, but 3-15 otherwise. Jimenez was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Conner Vitelli, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Vicente Cortez was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

Merced's record now sits at 6-15. As for Golden Valley, they have been struggling recently as they've lost 15 of their last 17 contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-16 record this season.

Merced and Golden Valley could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps California Rankings. The Bears (ranked 856th) will meet Atwater (ranked 253rd) at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Meanwhile, Golden Valley will square off against El Capitan at 4:00 p.m. on Monday with a big rank disadvantage (909 vs. 361).