The Cornerstone Christian Crusaders will face off against the Temecula Prep Patriots at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Cornerstone Christian's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Crossroads Christian as they made off with a 19-0 win. The Crusaders have beaten the Warriors the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Warriors has come to flipping the script.
Jayden Soto
| 03/27/25 vs Santa Rosa Academy | 5 |
| 02/25/25 @ West Valley | 1 |
Jayden Soto made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Cornerstone Christian is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-4 otherwise. Soto was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 3-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March of 2024.
In other batting news, Alec O'Sullivan and Josh May did most of the damage at the plate: O'Sullivan scored four runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4, while May scored four runs and stole five bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave O'Sullivan a new career-high in triples (two). Lucas Gomez-Creguer was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
Cornerstone Christian hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five strikeouts batters in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Temecula Prep entered their tilt with California Military Institute on Wednesday with four consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with five. They were the clear victors by a 20-0 margin over the Rough Riders. The Patriots' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Nikolaz Gonzalez was a standout: he got on base in all five of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, four runs, and four RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Braden Litt, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI.
Cornerstone Christian pushed their record up to 10-4 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.2 runs over those games. As for Temecula Prep, their victory bumped their record up to 7-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cornerstone Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Temecula Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Cornerstone Christian was able to grind out a solid win over Temecula Prep in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, winning 5-1. Do the Crusaders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Patriots turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
