Baseball Game Preview: Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders vs. Montgomery Aztecs

The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders will head out to take on the Montgomery Aztecs at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Mater Dei Catholic and Crescenta Valley meet (four straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Saturday. Mater Dei Catholic fell 6-3 to Crescenta Valley. The Crusaders have struggled against the Falcons recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost meeting.

Cristian Jimenez

Base on Balls Against

03/29/25 vs Crescenta Valley	1
03/26/25 @ Francis Parker	0
03/21/25 @ Mission Bay	1

Cristian Jimenez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned (and three unearned) runs on five hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk any time he's pitched this season.

At the plate, Eli Zamora made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Joey Castillo, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one double.

Meanwhile, Montgomery lost 13-6 to Point Loma on Wednesday.

Marco Reyes and Noah Flores did some serious damage despite the final result: Reyes scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Flores scored two runs while going 1-for-3. Cesar Abdul also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Montgomery has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 4-5 record this season. Mater Dei Catholic's defeat dropped their record down to 2-9.

Mater Dei Catholic was able to grind out a solid win over Montgomery when the teams last played on March 4th, winning 6-3. Does Mater Dei Catholic have another victory up their sleeve, or will Montgomery turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.