Santa Clara and Monta Vista are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2017, but likely not for long. The Santa Clara Bruins will square off against the Monta Vista Matadors at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Santa Clara had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 19-run drubbing they dealt Lynbrook on Thursday. Santa Clara was the clear victors by a 22-3 margin over Lynbrook. The Bruins haven't had any issues with the Vikings recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.
John Kepner
| 03/06/25 vs Lynbrook | 7 |
| 04/25/24 @ Monta Vista | 4 |
| 03/12/24 vs Lynbrook | 3 |
| 04/30/24 vs Lynbrook | 2 |
| 03/01/25 vs King's Academy | 1 |
John Kepner and Andrew Traffas made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Kepner didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Traffas pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. At the plate, Kepner went 3-for-4 with seven RBI, three runs, and one triple, while Traffas scored two runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in five of his six plate appearances. The dominant performance gave Kepner a new career-high in RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jaxton Chao, who scored five runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in all six of his plate appearances. Those five runs gave him a new career-high. Bruce Gibson also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Santa Clara always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .604. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lynbrook only posted an OBP of .276.
Meanwhile, Monta Vista put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They put the hurt on Pinewood with a sharp 16-1 win.
Aiden Koppes was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Koppes was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Mikey Owings and Van Chow did most of the damage at the plate: Owings scored three runs while going 2-for-3, while Chow scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-2. Sravik Sajja was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Santa Clara's record now sits at 4-0. As for Monta Vista, their record is now 3-0.
Everything went Santa Clara's way against Monta Vista in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Santa Clara made off with a 19-9 victory. Will Santa Clara repeat their success, or does Monta Vista have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
