Baseball Game Preview: El Modena Vanguards vs. Trabuco Hills Mustangs

The El Modena Vanguards will venture away from home to take on the Trabuco Hills Mustangs at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Trabuco Hills took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on El Modena, who comes in off a win.

Trabuco Hills will square off against a team with plenty of momentum: El Modena extended their winning streak to three on Tuesday. The Vanguards came out on top against Northwood by a score of 6-1.

Fausto Aguirre spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up ten Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

Adrian Perez

Hits

04/08/25 vs Northwood	3
03/29/25 vs La Serna	3
03/07/25 @ El Dorado	3
04/01/25 @ Salem Hills	1
03/31/25 vs Canyon	1
+ 5 more games

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Adrian Perez, who went 3-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. El Modena is 2-1 when Perez posts three or more hits, but 4-10 otherwise. Logan Honikel also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.

Meanwhile, Trabuco Hills fell victim to Millikan and their airtight pitching crew on Monday. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Rams. The Mustangs have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Mike DeFrancesca was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk).

El Modena's victory bumped their record up to 6-11. As for Trabuco Hills, their loss dropped their record down to 12-4-1.

El Modena couldn't quite get it done against Trabuco Hills in their previous matchup back in March as they fell 4-1. Can the Vanguards avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.