Baseball Game Preview: Kennedy Cougars vs. Sylmar Spartans

The Kennedy Cougars will venture away from home to square off against the Sylmar Spartans at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Kennedy saw some tournament action on Saturday. They walked away with a 6-1 victory over Marshall. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Cougars.

Alexander Mendez made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March.

In other pitching news, Jay Carmona and Vincent Zepeda dominated on the mound. Carmona pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits, while Zepeda pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Zepeda has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

Andrew Aguirre

Runs

05/03/25 vs Marshall	2
04/28/25 @ North Hollywood	2
04/21/25 vs San Fernando	2
04/15/25 vs South Gate	2
02/28/25 @ Taft	2
+ 5 more games

Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Andrew Aguirre, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs. He has become a key player for Kennedy: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-16 otherwise. Isaiah Tejada also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.

Meanwhile, Sylmar beat Palisades 5-2 on Saturday.

Kennedy's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-16. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Sylmar, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-5 record this season.

Kennedy couldn't quite finish off Sylmar when the teams last played back in March and fell 2-0. Can the Cougars avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.