The Sylmar Spartans will take on the Venice Gondoliers at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Sylmar 2, Venice 2.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Sylmar is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Cleveland a 2-0 shutout. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Spartans have posted against the Cavaliers since February 26, 2015.
Alex Martinez
| 05/14/25 vs Cleveland | 1 |
| 05/09/25 vs Cleveland | 1 |
| 05/05/25 vs Kennedy | 2 |
Not much got past Alex Martinez, who gave up just five hits to keep Cleveland off the board. Martinez has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Sylmar's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Mike Andrade, who went 2-for-4 with one run.
Meanwhile, Venice had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They came out on top against the Chancellors by a score of 4-1.
The team relied heavily on Canon King, who went 1-for-2 with one home run and two runs.
Venice's victory was their 11th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 27-2. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Sylmar, they have been performing well recently as they've won 11 of their last 13 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 22-6 record this season.
Tuesday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Sylmar hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .315. However, it's not like Venice struggles in that department as they've averaged .358. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Sylmar was able to grind out a solid victory over Venice in their previous meeting back in March of 2019, winning 4-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Spartans since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
