Maranatha has won five straight games at home, while Valencia has won five straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Saturday. The Minutemen will welcome the Vikings at 10:00 a.m. Maranatha's pitching crew has only allowed 3.4 runs per game this season, so Valencia's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Maranatha is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Valley Christian just ended the team's 14-game winning streak on Friday. They fell just short of the Defenders by a score of 2-0. The matchup marked the first time this season in which the Minutemen were not able to get on the board.
Matthew Vazquez
| 05/02/25 @ Valley Christian | 7 |
| 04/25/25 vs Righetti | 6 |
| 04/17/25 @ Whittier Christian | 10 |
Matthew Vazquez was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Maranatha saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Josh Proctor, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Valencia's hitters rose to the challenge against a Knights pitching crew that boasted an average of only 1.7 runs allowed on Wednesday. The Vikings came out on top against Trinity Classical Academy by a score of 11-6.
Noah Jaquez made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Valencia is 4-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 7-10 otherwise. Jaquez was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jack Yamamura, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Colten Biggs, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Valencia was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Valencia's win bumped their record up to 11-12. As for Maranatha, their loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 7-1 and their overall record down to 16-7-1.
Maranatha skirted past Valencia 3-2 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will the Minutemen repeat their success, or do the Vikings have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
