Baseball Game Preview: Indio Rajahs vs. San Jacinto Tigers

The Indio Rajahs will take on the San Jacinto Tigers at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Indio saw some tournament action on Thursday. They walked away with an 8-4 victory over Heritage.

Jose Rodriguez

Runs

02/22/25 vs Temecula Prep	3
02/27/25 @ Heritage	2
02/20/25 vs West Valley	2
02/25/25 @ Temescal Canyon	1
02/18/25 vs Citrus Hill	1

Jose Rodriguez made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up four earned runs off nine hits (and not a single walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-4. Indio is 2-1 when Rodriguez posts two or more runs, but 0-4 otherwise.

In other batting news, Jesse Arreola and Julian Mandujano did most of the damage at the plate: Arreola got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI and one double, while Mandujano scored three runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. Noah Hernandez was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask San Jacinto). Everything went their way against Temecula Prep on Thursday as San Jacinto made off with a 12-2 win. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Tigers with their most commanding win of the season.

The victory made it two in a row for San Jacinto and bumps their season record up to 3-2. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs over those games. As for Indio, their win ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-5.

Indio couldn't quite finish off San Jacinto in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 and fell 7-5. Can Indio avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.