Baseball Game Preview: Santa Monica Vikings vs. Highland Bulldogs

The Santa Monica Vikings will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against the Highland Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Santa Monica is headed into their home opener looking to turn things around after starting their season on the road. They fell just short of South by a score of 6-5 on Wednesday.

Santa Monica got a good showing from Jackson O'Neal, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.

At the plate, Santa Monica saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Eric Gonzalez, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3. Another was Kaveh Naini, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.

Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last matchup, Highland made sure to put some runs up on the board against Golden Valley on Wednesday. Highland was the clear victors by a 15-2 margin over Golden Valley.

Victor Hernandez looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.

On the hitting side, Mateo Dominguez was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. Nick Gonzales was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-4.

Highland always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .591. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Golden Valley only posted an OBP of .280.

Santa Monica was able to grind out a solid win over Highland in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, winning 5-1. Does Santa Monica have another victory up their sleeve, or will Highland turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.