Baseball Game Preview: Miami Vandals vs. Santa Cruz Valley Dust Devils

The Miami Vandals will venture away from home to square off against the Santa Cruz Valley Dust Devils at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Santa Cruz Valley took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Miami, who comes in off a win.

Miami is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past San Carlos 18-1 on Friday. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Vandals as it put an end to their five-game losing streak.

Mathew Zamora

Stolen Base

04/25/25 vs San Carlos	1
04/23/25 vs Willcox	3
04/16/25 vs San Tan Charter	1

The team relied heavily on Mathew Zamora, who went 3-for-4 with six RBI, three runs, and one triple. He is also on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Alex Doss was another key player, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with four runs, one triple, and one stolen base.

They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Miami kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 3.7 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matchups they've averaged 9.

Meanwhile, Santa Cruz Valley came up short against Veritas Prep on Thursday, falling 13-3.

Santa Cruz Valley's defeat was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 13-8. As for Miami, their win was their first in the region, bumping their region record up to 1-5 and their overall record up to 3-18.

Miami suffered a grim 8-0 defeat to Santa Cruz Valley when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can the Vandals avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.