The Rancho Verde Mustangs are taking a road trip to face off against the Jurupa Hills Spartans at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
Rancho Verde will bounce into Tuesday's matchup after beating JW North, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Rancho Verde sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 win over JW North on Saturday. While the Mustangs didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-15-1), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Rancho Verde's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ethan Montolfo, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. That run marked the first that Montolfo scored this season. David Hernandez was another, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
While Jurupa Hills didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-18), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Miller 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Spartans have posted since April 6, 2024.
Aaden Lopez was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Alejandro Preciado was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Matthew Toscano, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Jurupa Hills hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Miller struck out 11 times.
Rancho Verde pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Jurupa Hills, their record now sits at 5-1.
Rancho Verde came up short against Jurupa Hills when the teams last played back in March of 2015, falling 4-1. Can Rancho Verde avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
