The Rancho Mirage Rattlers will face off against the San Jacinto Valley Academy Wolves at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Rancho Mirage's pitching crew has only allowed 3.9 runs per game this season, so San Jacinto Valley Academy's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Rancho Mirage took a loss when they played away from home last Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 6-2 win over Palm Springs.
Jayden Cunningham
| 04/10/25 @ Amador Valley | 6 |
| 02/28/25 vs Cornerstone Christian | 4 |
| 04/02/25 @ Xavier Prep | 3 |
| 03/18/25 vs La Quinta | 2 |
| 03/14/25 vs Palm Desert | 2 |
| + 3 more games |
Rancho Mirage got a great performance from Jayden Cunningham as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over 4.1 innings pitched. Cunningham is becoming a predictor of the Rattlers' success: when he allows at most one hit the team is 3-1 (and 7-10 when he doesn't).
At the plate, Kobee Finnikin was incredible, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Jesus Gutierrez, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, San Jacinto Valley Academy had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.1 runs) and they went ahead and made it ten on Friday. They beat the Rangers by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 5-4.
San Jacinto Valley Academy let Carter Kelly and Canon Fletcher run wild. Kelly went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run, while Fletcher went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs. Chayce Paine was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
San Jacinto Valley Academy's victory was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-7. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.6 runs over those games. As for Rancho Mirage, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 10-11.
Everything went Rancho Mirage's way against San Jacinto Valley Academy when the teams last played back in February of 2024, as Rancho Mirage made off with a 12-2 win. Will the Rattlers repeat their success, or do the Wolves have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
