Baseball Game Preview: Steele Canyon Cougars vs. Monte Vista Monarchs

For the first time this season, Steele Canyon will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will venture away from home to take on the Monte Vista Monarchs at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Steele Canyon is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Clairemont just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Monday. They fell just short of the Chieftains by a score of 6-5.

Tommy Rimoldi

Runs

04/21/25 @ Clairemont	2
04/14/25 vs West Hills	2
03/17/25 @ San Ysidro	2
04/19/25 vs Grossmont	1
04/17/25 vs Montgomery	1
+ 5 more games

Tommy Rimoldi was cooking despite his team's loss, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and one double. He has become a key player for Steele Canyon: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 4-10 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Gavin Caha, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI and one double.

Meanwhile, Monte Vista was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their ninth straight defeat. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost a 5-3 heartbreaker at the hands of Santana. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Monarchs have suffered since May 23, 2024.

Monte Vista saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Orlando Rupley, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base. Anthony Kephart also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Steele Canyon's record now sits at 6-11. As for Monte Vista, their record is now 2-15.

Steele Canyon was able to grind out a solid victory over Monte Vista when the teams last played back in February of 2022, winning 6-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.