Baseball Recap: El Rancho Find Success

While El Rancho didn't have the best season last year (they finished 12-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They came out on top against the Oxford Academy Patriots by a score of 5-1 on Friday. That's two games straight that the Dons have won by exactly four runs.

Eric Cortes

Base on Balls Against

03/19/25 vs California	2
03/21/25 @ Oxford Academy	1
02/26/25 @ Los Altos	1
02/22/25 vs Salesian	1

El Rancho got a great performance from Eric Cortes as he didn't allow a single earned run over 5.2 innings pitched. Cortes also tossed a walk, which is notable because El Rancho is 4-1 when he allows at most two walks, but 3-4 otherwise.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Alex Aparicio, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March of 2024. Alexander Moraza also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.

The win made it two in a row for El Rancho and bumps their season record up to 7-5. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for Oxford Academy, they are on a six-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-6.

Looking ahead, El Rancho will challenge San Marino at 3:30 p.m. on Monday. San Marino's pitching crew has only allowed two runs per game this season, so El Rancho's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Oxford Academy, they will take on Orange at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.