The Rancho Cucamonga Cougars will venture away from home to face off against the Maranatha Minutemen at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
While Rancho Cucamonga didn't have the best season last year (they finished 12-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Ontario Christian an 8-0 shutout on Thursday. The Cougars haven't had any issues with the Knights recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
The team relied heavily on Rowan Suchanek, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Derek Lesiuk was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Rancho Cucamonga was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .318 or higher in six consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Maranatha entered their tilt with Heritage Christian on Tuesday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They were the clear victors by an 11-2 margin over the Warriors. Maranatha's win was all the more impressive since the Warriors were averaging only 3.29 runs allowed on the season.
Bradley Loiacono looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two hits in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Maranatha let Josh Proctor and Will Suslow run wild. Proctor went 2-for-5 with one home run, five RBI, and one double, while Suslow scored three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. That's the most RBI Proctor has posted since back in April of 2024. Trevor Rivas also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Rancho Cucamonga's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-2. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.9 runs on average over those games. As for Maranatha, their record now sits at 5-6-1.
Maranatha's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Rancho Cucamonga hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .351. It's a different story for Maranatha, though, as they've only averaged .252. Will they be able to contain Rancho Cucamonga's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
