vs
| 04/25/24 - Home | 9-19 L |
| 04/02/24 - Away | 1-12 L |
| 03/07/24 - Home | 1-11 L |
| 04/25/19 - Home | 7-1 W |
| 03/14/19 - Away | 4-2 W |
| + 5 more games |
Monta Vista and Santa Clara are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2017, but likely not for long. The Monta Vista Matadors will welcome the Santa Clara Bruins at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are still undefeated (Monta Vista has three wins , while Santa Clara has four dating back to last season).
Monta Vista had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 15-run drubbing they dealt Pinewood on Saturday. Monta Vista blew past Pinewood 16-1.
Aiden Koppes was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Koppes was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Mikey Owings and Van Chow did most of the damage at the plate: Owings scored three runs while going 2-for-3, while Chow scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-2. Sravik Sajja was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Santa Clara). Everything went their way against Lynbrook on Thursday as Santa Clara made off with a 22-3 victory. With that win, the Bruins brought their scoring average up to 10 runs per game.
Like Monta Vista, Santa Clara also got a great game from a two-way player: John Kepner. On the mound, Kepner didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Andrew Traffas pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. At the plate, Kepner went 3-for-4 with seven RBI, three runs, and one triple, while Traffas scored two runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in five of his six plate appearances. That's the most stolen bases Traffas has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jaxton Chao, who scored five runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in all six of his plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (three). Another player making a difference was Bruce Gibson, who scored three runs while going 1-for-2.
Santa Clara always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .604. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Santa Clara's victory bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Monta Vista, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.
Monta Vista might still be hurting after the 19-9 defeat they got from Santa Clara when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can Monta Vista avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
