Baseball Game Preview: Selma Bears vs. Sierra Chieftains

The Selma Bears will be taking part in a tournament against the Sierra Chieftains at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Selma will be looking to extend their current seven-game winning streak.

Selma's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 6-0 margin over Exeter. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since April 8, 2024, but that streak is no more.

Not much got past Noah Garcia-Ortega, who gave up just four hits and racked up nine Ks to keep Exeter off the board. Those nine strikeouts set a new season-high mark for Garcia-Ortega.

Sonny Rivera

Stolen Base (Career)

04/10/25 @ Exeter	2
04/04/25 vs Reedley	1
04/02/25 @ Reedley	1
04/03/24 vs Immanuel	1

On the hitting side, Sonny Rivera was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one triple, and one RBI. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Matthew Esparza was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Sierra, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They won by a run and slipped past Chowchilla 1-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Chieftains have posted since April 3, 2024.

Sierra saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Zach Lloyd, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

Selma pushed their record up to 9-5 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Sierra, they have been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 12 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season.

Selma took their victory against Sierra in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 13-3 score. Do the Bears have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Chieftains turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.