The Monte Vista Christian Mustangs will face off against the Willow Glen Rams at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Monte Vista Christian sitting on three straight victories and Willow Glen on ten.
On Wednesday, Monte Vista Christian was able to grind out a solid win over Alisal, taking the game 4-1.
Dante Darnell made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over 6.1 innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one stolen base and one run.
In other batting news, Carter Wright was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. Tyson Shaw was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Willow Glen let Westmont stack six runs on them in the fourth inning on Friday but luckily Willow Glen prevailed anyway. The Rams walked away with a 12-8 victory over the Warriors.
Nolan Wirtz looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
At the plate, Ray Walsh was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with three runs, two doubles, and one RBI. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. Kaiden Pan also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Willow Glen was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .424. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive matches.
Willow Glen's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-6. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Monte Vista Christian, their record now sits at 21-5.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Monte Vista Christian has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Willow Glen struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.6 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Monte Vista Christian was able to grind out a solid win over Willow Glen in their previous meeting back in March of 2020, winning 5-1. Do the Mustangs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rams turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
