The Rancho Alamitos Vaqueros will challenge the Orange Panthers at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Rancho Alamitos is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.6 runs per game this season.
On Thursday, it was close, but Rancho Alamitos sidestepped Anaheim for a 2-1 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Vaqueros.
Henry Garcia spent all 9.2 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on seven hits and racked up six Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
Aidan Martinez
| 03/12/26 vs Anaheim | 2 |
| 03/04/26 @ Santa Ana Valley | 1 |
| 02/21/25 @ Santiago | 1 |
| 02/19/25 vs Santiago | 1 |
On the hitting side, Rancho Alamitos' victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Aidan Martinez, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles and one RBI. Those two doubles gave Martinez a new career-high.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last contest, Orange made sure to put some runs up on the board against Savanna on Friday. The Panthers walked away with a 10-5 win over the Rebels. The Panthers have beaten the Rebels the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Rebels has come to flipping the script.
Daniel Vergara looked comfortable as he struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Orange is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 3-4 otherwise.
At the plate, Orange let Evan Gonzalez and Ethan Giraldo run wild. Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run, while Giraldo went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Orange is undefeated when Giraldo posts two or more runs, but 2-5 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Nathan Yang, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI.
Orange kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.2 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 games they've averaged 10.
The victory got Orange back to even at 5-5. As for Rancho Alamitos, their record now sits at 5-2.
Rancho Alamitos' speedy runners might be the difference in Tuesday's matchup. The Vaqueros have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.6 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Orange, though, as they've been averaging only 1.3 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Rancho Alamitos continue to outrun the ball? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
