Baseball Game Preview: Bloomington Bruins vs. Rialto Knights

Bruins

Runs

03/08/25 vs Pacific	16
03/01/25 @ Nuview Bridge	7
02/27/25 vs Cathedral City	13
02/25/25 vs Rancho Mirage	2
02/22/25 @ Linfield Christian	2
+ 2 more games

Bloomington is preparing for their first league matchup of the season on Friday. They will venture away from home to square off against the Rialto Knights at 3:45 p.m. Bloomington is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.9 runs per game this season.

Rialto will be up against a hot Bloomington squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. Everything went Bloomington's way against Pacific on Saturday as Bloomington made off with a 16-0 win. That 16 run margin sets a new team best for the Bruins this season.

Robert Bliss made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing Two bases. while going 2-for-2.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Andrew Velazquez, who scored three runs while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Isaac Garcia, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-1.

Bloomington always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .622. The last time their OBP was this high was back in February of 2024.

Meanwhile, Rialto's undefeated season came to an end after three games on Tuesday. They fell just short of Silverado by a score of 9-7. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Knights have suffered since April 9, 2024.

Bloomington's record is now 5-2. As for Rialto, their loss dropped their record down to 3-1.

Bloomington couldn't quite finish off Rialto in their previous matchup back in March of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can Bloomington avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.