For the first time this season, Whittier Christian will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will head out to face off against the Valley Christian Defenders at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Whittier Christian will be strutting in after a victory while Valley Christian will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Friday, Whittier Christian got the win against Western by a conclusive 24-4. The result was nothing new for the Heralds, who have now won six games by six runs or more so far this season.
Elai Guzman made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Guzman was even better at the plate, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Whittier Christian got a massive performance out of Luke Jung, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and one double. That's the most runs Jung has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Ace Cabrera, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Whittier Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .659. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Valley Christian came up short against Village Christian on Friday and fell 8-3.
Austin Abrahams made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Seth Dahlenburg, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Whittier Christian is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for Valley Christian, they dropped their record down to 8-9 with the loss, which was their fifth straight on the road.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Whittier Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Valley Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Whittier Christian came out on top in a nail-biter against Valley Christian in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Heralds since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
