It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Rancho Mirage had no problem doing just that on Friday. They came out on top against the Rancho Verde Mustangs by a score of 7-2. For the Rattlers, this counts as revenge for the 6-2 win the Mustangs walked away with the last time they faced one another back in March of 2015.
Rancho Mirage got a great performance from Zachary Berntsen as he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off six hits. Berntsen has become a key player for the Rattlers: the team is 6-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 10-11 otherwise.
Jesus Gutierrez
| 05/16/25 vs Rancho Verde | 3 |
| 05/02/25 vs Shadow Hills | 2 |
| 04/25/25 @ Palm Springs | 2 |
| 05/07/25 @ Shadow Hills | 1 |
| 04/30/25 vs La Quinta | 1 |
At the plate, Jesus Gutierrez was excellent, going 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and two runs. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Edward Carlin, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Rancho Mirage pushed their record up to 16-12 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.2 runs over those games. As for Rancho Verde, they have been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 17-12 record this season.
Rancho Mirage has already played their next game, an 11-5 victory against Crossroads on the 20th. Rancho Verde does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
