The Fountain Valley Barons will face off against the Trabuco Hills Mustangs at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Fountain Valley is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They had just enough and edged out El Segundo 4-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Barons have posted since April 4th.
Tyler Peshke made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than one hit in 11 consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
In other pitching news, Nathan Martinez looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits any time he's pitched this season.
Back at the plate, Mikey Patterson was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
Fountain Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April.
Meanwhile, Trabuco Hills had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Friday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 4-3 W against the Bearcats.
Mike DeFrancesca spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three runs (all of which were unearned) on three hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Ryan Luce, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles, one run, and one RBI. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Evan Hall, who went 2-for-3 with two runs.
Trabuco Hills pushed their record up to 21-7-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Fountain Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 16-13.
Fountain Valley skirted past Trabuco Hills 4-3 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Barons since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
