Baseball Game Preview: Maranatha Minutemen vs. Village Christian Crusaders

For the second straight game, Maranatha will face off against Village Christian. The Minutemen will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Crusaders at 4:00 p.m. Maranatha is coming into the game hot, having won their last six games.

Maranatha is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Village Christian a 16-0 shutout on Tuesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Minutemen with their most commanding win of the season.

Zach Strickland made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024.

In other pitching news, Jacob Yun looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three).

Josh Proctor

Doubles (Career)

04/08/25 @ Village Christian	2
04/02/25 vs Rancho Cucamonga	1
04/01/25 @ Heritage Christian	1
03/27/25 vs Paloma Valley	1
03/25/25 vs Vista Murrieta	1

Back at the plate, Josh Proctor and Trevor Rivas did most of the damage at the plate: Proctor scored two runs while going 2-for-2, while Rivas scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave Proctor a new career-high in doubles (two). Another player making a difference was Yahir Treto, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.

Maranatha kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in five consecutive matches.

Maranatha's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-6-1. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.7 runs over those games. As for Village Christian, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost five of their last six contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 9-7 record this season.