Baseball Recap: Independence Find Success

Independence is still undefeated this season after their match against Taft on Tuesday, but Taft came as close as anyone has to beating them. The Independence Falcons came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 5-4 W against the Taft Wildcats. The five-run effort marked the Falcons' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Brandon Gutierrez made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching four innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Furthermore, he didn't allow a single walk, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in March of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-5.

In other pitching news, Isaac Lopez looked comfortable as he struck out eight batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts.

Eduardo Aguirre

Hits (Career)

03/11/25 @ Taft	3
03/03/25 vs South	2
05/14/24 vs Arvin	2
04/09/24 @ Highland	2
03/07/25 vs Legacy Christian Academy	1

Back at the plate, Eduardo Aguirre was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-5. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. David Baralt Portillo was another key player, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with one RBI.

Independence kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Taft only managed six hits.

Independence's record is now 6-0. As for Taft, they are on a six-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-5.

Coming up, Independence will challenge Arvin at 4:00 p.m. on March 19th. As for Taft, they will face off against Highland at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Highland's pitching crew has only allowed 1.8 runs per game this season, so Taft's hitters will have their work cut out for them.