Moorpark and Royal are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2021, but likely not for long. The Moorpark Musketeers will head out on the road to square off against the Royal Highlanders at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Saturday, Moorpark earned a 5-1 win over Buena. The victory was just what Moorpark needed coming off of an 8-1 defeat in their prior match.
Derek Nickels made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also only allowed one walk). Nickels has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. Nickels was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Danny Lopez looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also only allowed one walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
Nickels wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Carson Cerny, who went 1-for-2 with a stolen base.
Meanwhile, Royal came tearing into Friday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.3 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Eagles 7-0.
Noah Vasquez was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2. The team also got some help courtesy of Zachary Nagy, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Moorpark's win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 9-10-1. As for Royal, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season.
Moorpark was able to grind out a solid victory over Royal in their previous meeting back in March, winning 8-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for Moorpark since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
