The Miller Rebels will challenge the Hesperia Scorpions at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Miller is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Pacific get on the board and left with a 15-0 victory on Wednesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Rebels with their most commanding win of the season.
Ilya Ridge
| 02/27/25 vs Montclair | 7 |
| 02/22/25 vs Rim of the World | 2 |
Ilya Ridge was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Miller is 3-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-4 otherwise. Ridge was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Beckmond Kraynak looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (two).
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Raphael Sotelo, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was David Trujillo, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Miller hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Hesperia hadn't done well against Apple Valley recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Hesperia sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 7-5 win over Apple Valley. While the Scorpions didn't have the best season last year (they finished 11-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Josh Flores was incredible, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. He is 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.
Hesperia is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.2 runs over those games. The victory got Miller back to even at 5-5.
Miller couldn't quite finish off Hesperia when the teams last played back in February of 2015 and fell 6-4. Can Miller avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
