Baseball Game Preview: Banning Pilots vs. Vista Murrieta Broncos

The Banning Pilots will be taking part in a tournament against the Vista Murrieta Broncos at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Banning was handed a heart-breaking two-run defeat in their last game, but they sure didn't let that happen against Canyon on Friday. Banning's pitchers stepped up to hand Canyon a 7-0 shutout. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Pilots have posted since April 27, 2024.

Angelo Duarte

Runs

02/21/25 vs Canyon	2
05/22/24 vs South East	1
05/10/24 vs Los Angeles CES	1
04/20/24 vs Roybal	2

Angelo Duarte and Pedro Ibanez-Eddy did most of the damage at the plate: Duarte scored two runs while going 1-for-3, while Ibanez-Eddy scored two runs while going 2-for-4. That's the most runs Duarte has posted since back in April of 2024. AJ Herrera was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.

Meanwhile, Vista Murrieta sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 9-8 victory over Palm Desert on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Broncos in their matchups with the Aztecs: they've now won four in a row.

Michael Velardez looked comfortable as he tossed 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits.

On the hitting side, Vista Murrieta let Brady Luyben and Taytum Reeves run wild. Luyben scored a run while going 2-for-4, while Reeves scored two runs while going 1-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of RJ Holmes, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.

Vista Murrieta's victory bumped their record up to 2-0. As for Banning, the win got them back to even at 1-1.