The Diamond Bar Brahmas are taking a road trip to take on the Monrovia Wildcats at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Diamond Bar is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Azusa on Friday as Diamond Bar made off with a 16-5 win. The high-scoring effort was just what the Brahmas needed considering they were shutout in their previous matchup.
Carlos Cornejo was a standout: he scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He also brought in an RBI, marking his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Isaac Insuasti, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Diamond Bar always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .543. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.
Meanwhile, Monrovia waltzed into their game on Saturday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Titans. That's two games straight that the Wildcats have won by just one run.
Monrovia also got a great performance from David Lopez as he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Lopez has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Monrovia's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Josh Griffiths, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one RBI. Micah Maljian was another, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Monrovia's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Diamond Bar, their record now sits at 2-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Diamond Bar has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Monrovia struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Diamond Bar took their victory against Monrovia in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 8-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for Diamond Bar since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
