(Bandidos Robert “Apple” Garica crosses the plate during the Bandidos vs Hopper Haus game. September 16, 2026. Picture by Constancio Martinez Jr)
Special to the PRESS
The men’s softball league wrapped up Week 4 with a slate of competitive games and surprising upsets. Among them was the 8 p.m. matchup between the Bandidos and Hopper Haus, which turned into a hotly contested battle.
The game had barely begun when the Bandidos jumped out to a 4-0 lead, thanks in part to a pair of doubles. But they were not finished, as Robert “Apple” Garcia followed with a triple to extend the lead to 7-0. Hopper Haus stopped the bleeding with a flyout, but not before the Bandidos added another run to make it 8-0.
In the bottom of the inning, Hopper Haus got off to a good start of its own, as leadoff hitter Edward Garza scored on an inside-the-park home run. A couple of additional base hits brought Hopper Haus back into the game, cutting the deficit 8-3 after the first inning.
In the top of the second inning, the Bandidos were held to one run after some nice defensive catches in the outfield by Hopper Haus. In the bottom of the inning, an inside-the-park home run cut the Bandidos lead to 9-7.
Hopper Haus then managed to tie the game up 9-9 in the third inning, but the intense game led to some exchanged words by both teams.
In the fourth inning, the Bandidos started to get their mojo back, collecting a handful of base hits. They also capitalized on a Hopper Haus fielding error to cut the deficit to 12-9. From there, the Bandidos followed with one base hit after another and in the blink of eye, they had surged ahead, 23-9.
As the teams were in the midst of heading in and out of the dugouts, tensions boiled over as the teams had more words and eventually became physical, the umpire was forced to declare the game over.
Later that night, the Brew Crew defeated the Kings 9-8 in a stunning upset. The win was particularly significant for the Brew Crew, who went winless last season and entered this matchup with just one win, which came by way of forfeit.
Outfielder Darren Cisneros said has been working hard to improve and believes the victory is just the beginning.
“It felt amazing, I couldn’t stop smiling. We started from the bottom from last season, losing by 20 points at times. We had the athletic ability as a team, we just needed to bring the fundamentals and skill together.” Stated Cisneros. “Next week we plan on going 2-0 and rising to the top in the playoffs.”
Teammate and catcher Andres Salinas shared a similar sentiment.