Rancho Mirage entered their matchup against Palm Desert on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Rancho Mirage fell just short of Palm Desert by a score of 7-5. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Aztecs this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 2-1 last Wednesday.
Marcos Ceja Jr. was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He tossed 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. What's more, he gave up only one walk, the fewest he's had since back in May of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Ceja Jr. wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Zachary Berntsen, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. Jesus Gutierrez also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
This is the second loss in a row for Rancho Mirage and nudges their season record down to 8-3. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the losses came by an average of only 1.5 runs. As for Palm Desert, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season.
Rancho Mirage wasted no time getting back out on the field and has already played their next contest, a 6-2 defeat against La Quinta on the 18th. As for Palm Desert, they also didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next matchup, a 4-1 victory against Shadow Hills on the 18th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
