A feisty cat fight will be fought as Bonita Bearcats face off against Norco Cougars at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Bonita's pitching crew has only allowed 3.2 runs per game this season, so Norco's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Bonita is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 12 runs on Saturday, they were much more limited against Great Oak on Wednesday. They took a 4-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wolfpack. The Bearcats haven't had much luck with the Wolfpack recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Camden Farina
| 04/02/25 vs Great Oak | 2 |
| 03/27/25 vs Claremont | 2 |
| 03/22/25 @ Diamond Bar | 2 |
Bonita got a good showing from Camden Farina, who pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Farina has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Bonita saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Josh Angely, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Norco had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Wednesday. They didn't even let the Golden Bears on the board, marking their second-straight 8-0 shutout. Give the Cougars' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's fourth straight shutout.
Jordan Ayala made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Norco is 3-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 4-5 otherwise. Ayala was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in February.
In other pitching news, Vincent Rodriquez looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He is becoming a predictor of Norco's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 3-1 (and 4-5 when he doesn't).
Back at the plate, Dylan Seward was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Marcus Blanton also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Norco was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .387. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .320 or higher in three consecutive games.
Norco's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-6. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for Bonita, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-6.
Bonita might still be hurting after the 10-3 loss they got from Norco in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Can the Bearcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
