The Santiago Cavaliers will face off against the Academy for Academic Excellence Knights at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Santiago is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 14-2 margin over Public Safety Academy. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Cavaliers.
Matthew Rubin made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Santiago is undefeated when Rubin posts three or more RBI, but 4-14 otherwise.
Isaiah Cortez
| 04/18/25 @ Saddleback | 4 |
| 05/15/25 vs Public Safety Academy | 3 |
| 05/07/25 vs Jordan | 3 |
| 04/09/25 vs Santa Ana Valley | 3 |
| 04/04/25 vs Magnolia | 3 |
| + 8 more games |
In other batting news, Isaiah Cortez was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. He has become a key player for Santiago: the team is 4-1 when he posts at least three hits, but 4-13 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Alex Santillano, who went 4-for-5 with four stolen bases and four runs.
Santiago always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .600. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Public Safety Academy only posted an OBP of .387.
Meanwhile, Academy for Academic Excellence entered their tilt with Bethel Christian on Thursday with eight consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with nine. They put the hurt on the Kings with a sharp 14-4 win. Considering the Knights have won ten games by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Nathan Rudd was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Keegan Layton, who went 1-for-2 with three runs and one stolen base. Garrett Narasky was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Academy for Academic Excellence pushed their record up to 13-9 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Santiago, their victory bumped their record up to 8-14.
