The Rancho Cucamonga Cougars will challenge the Riverside Prep Silver Knights at 3:15 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Rancho Cucamonga 1.8, Riverside Prep 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Rancho Cucamonga is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Maranatha just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Wednesday. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Minutemen. The game marked the first time this season in which the Cougars were not able to get on the board.
Justin Stansbury
| 04/02/25 @ Maranatha | 1 |
| 03/10/25 vs Glendora | 1 |
| 02/19/25 @ Citrus Valley | 2 |
Rancho Cucamonga got a good showing from Justin Stansbury, who pitched 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Stansbury has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Rancho Cucamonga saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jacob Peyton, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one double.
Meanwhile, Riverside Prep came tearing into Thursday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They beat the Patriots by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 18-1. The Silver Knights might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by nine runs or more this season.
Jacob Villegas looked comfortable as he struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits.
At the plate, Victor Herrera was a standout: he scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in five of his six plate appearances. Those four runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Trent Bourgeois, who went 4-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Riverside Prep kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 19 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in four consecutive games.
Riverside Prep's win bumped their record up to 11-4. As for Rancho Cucamonga, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Rancho Cucamonga has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Riverside Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
