The Temecula Valley Golden Bears will head out to take on the Capistrano Valley Christian Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Temecula Valley has four straight wins, Capistrano Valley Christian has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Temecula Valley took a 21-run defeat the last time they faced off against Trabuco Hills, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. Temecula Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against Trabuco Hills on Thursday, sneaking past 3-1.
The team relied heavily on Rocco Pugliese, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and one RBI. That triple was his first of the season. Taden Krogsgaard was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, while it was Capistrano Valley Christian who put the first points on the board on Wednesday, it was Mission Viejo who put up more. Capistrano Valley Christian fell just short of Mission Viejo by a score of 8-7.
Brett Slymen was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed since back in March of 2024.
At the plate, Jack Gallo was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing Two bases. while going 2-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Dominic French, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Even though they lost, Capistrano Valley Christian was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .417. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mission Viejo only posted a batting average of .261.
Temecula Valley's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Capistrano Valley Christian, their loss dropped their record down to 6-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Temecula Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Capistrano Valley Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Temecula Valley was able to grind out a solid win over Capistrano Valley Christian in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, winning 5-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for Temecula Valley since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
