The Temecula Valley Golden Bears will square off against the Chaparral Pumas at 3:30 p.m. on Monday.
On Friday, Temecula Valley didn't have quite enough to beat Vista Murrieta and fell 10-9. The Golden Bears have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Taden Krogsgaard put in work while hitting and pitching. He struck out six batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Krogsgaard was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.
In other batting news, Rocco Pugliese made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Stone Tucker was another key player, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Chaparral has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging three runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Friday. They had just enough and edged out Murrieta Mesa 12-11. The victory was nothing new for the Pumas as they're now sitting on four straight.
Edgar Sanchez looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted two strikeouts, the most he's had since back in February.
At the plate, Connor Wetzel and Griffin Fien did most of the damage at the plate: Wetzel went 2-for-3 with one home run and four RBI, while Fien went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI Wetzel has posted since back in February. The team also got some help courtesy of Nicholas Vazquez, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Chaparral was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .452. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Chaparral's win bumped their record up to 11-3. As for Temecula Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-7.
Temecula Valley was able to grind out a solid victory over Chaparral when the teams last played back in March of 2024, winning 8-4. Will the Golden Bears repeat their success, or do the Pumas have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
