The El Rancho Dons will head out on the road to face off against the San Marino Titans at 3:30 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
El Rancho gave up the first runs on Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. They walked away with a 5-1 win over Oxford Academy. While the Dons didn't have the best season last year (they finished 12-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Eric Cortes
| 03/21/25 @ Oxford Academy | 1 |
| 03/19/25 vs California | 2 |
| 03/04/25 @ South Pasadena | 0 |
| 02/26/25 @ Los Altos | 1 |
| 02/22/25 vs Salesian | 1 |
El Rancho got a great performance from Eric Cortes as he didn't allow a single earned run over 5.2 innings pitched. Cortes has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Alex Aparicio was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March of 2024. Alexander Moraza also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for San Marino, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-2 victory over Village Christian on Thursday.
Nate Kar and Caleb Newton dominated on the mound. Kar pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit, while Newton tossed five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Furthermore, Kar didn't allow a single earned run, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in February.
At the plate, San Marino saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tom?s Bilvado, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. Another was Parker Wilson, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
San Marino's win was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-3. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for El Rancho, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-5.
El Rancho couldn't quite finish off San Marino in their previous matchup back in March of 2024 and fell 3-1. Can El Rancho avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
