Baseball Game Preview: Pioneer Mustangs vs. Menlo-Atherton Bears

The Pioneer Mustangs will venture away from home to square off against the Menlo-Atherton Bears at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

Pioneer took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They skirted past Christopher 3-2.

Meanwhile, Menlo-Atherton entered their tilt with Carlmont on Friday with five consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with six. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Scots. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Bears have posted since May 1, 2024.

Wes Peterson spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Menlo-Atherton saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jimmy Zaharias, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Menlo-Atherton's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-4. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Pioneer, their victory bumped their record up to 5-6.

Pioneer was able to grind out a solid win over Menlo-Atherton in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 7-3. Will the Mustangs repeat their success, or do the Bears have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.