The Aptos Mariners will head out on the road to square off against the Silver Creek Raiders at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Aptos is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Harbor on Friday as they made off with a 16-2 win. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Jason Yager
| 03/28/25 @ Soquel | 5 |
| 03/07/25 @ Carmel | 4 |
| 04/04/25 @ Santa Cruz | 3 |
| 05/09/25 vs Harbor | 1 |
Aptos got a great performance from Jason Yager as he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off seven hits. Yager has become a key player for the Mariners: the team is 4-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 5-11 otherwise.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Alec Mendoza, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Isaiah Work also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen bases of the season.
Aptos always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .605. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Silver Creek had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it nine on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 12-6 margin over the Cardinals. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since March 4, 2020, but that streak is no more.
Giovanni Mejia and Cayleb Duran made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Mejia pitched 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Duran tossed 5.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off ten hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances. At the plate, Mejia went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI, while Duran went 4-for-5 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and one run.
In other batting news, Noah Medina was a standout: he went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. He is on a roll when it comes to hits, as he's now got three or more in each of the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Saxton Sinatra, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Silver Creek's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-4. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Aptos, their record is now 9-13.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Aptos has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Silver Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
