Millikan and Trabuco Hills are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2020, but likely not for long. The Millikan Rams will head out to face off against the Trabuco Hills Mustangs at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Millikan has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Trabuco Hills will arrive with six straight victories.
Last Friday, Millikan didn't have quite enough to beat Servite and fell 2-1. The match marked the Rams' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Owen Waytas
Owen Waytas was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run over 5.2 innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Millikan is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-3 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Millikan saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Adrian Ramirez, who went 1-for-4 with one triple and one run. That triple marked the first that Ramirez hit this season.
Meanwhile, while Trabuco Hills put up some runs on Saturday, the same can't be said for Peninsula. Trabuco Hills didn't even let Peninsula on the board, marking Trabuco Hills' second-straight 6-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Mustangs, who have now won six contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Mike DeFrancesca looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Daniel Van De Kreeke, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Amedeo Miller, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Trabuco Hills' win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-0-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 10.2 runs. As for Millikan, they now have a losing record of 3-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Millikan has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Trabuco Hills struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Millikan might still be hurting after the 11-4 defeat they got from Trabuco Hills when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can Millikan avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
