The Del Oro Golden Eagles will square off against the Pleasant Valley Vikings at 3:30 p.m. on Monday. Del Oro will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
Del Oro had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the nine-run drubbing they dealt Roseville on Friday. Del Oro's pitcher stepped up to hand Roseville a 9-0 shutout. While the Golden Eagles 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.
Roseville's batters probably weren't too happy with Kael Lumbert, who pitched a no hitter and racked up ten Ks (he gave up a single walk). The dominant performance gave Lumbert a new career-high in strikeouts.
Masen Belding
| 02/28/25 @ Roseville | 3 |
| 03/26/24 vs Monterey Trail | 2 |
| 03/01/24 @ Stagg | 2 |
| 04/24/24 @ Oak Ridge | 1 |
| 04/22/24 vs Oak Ridge | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Masen Belding, who fired off two home runs, three runs, and four RBI while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Shane Maloney, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Pleasant Valley, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. They walked away with a 9-4 win over Las Plumas on Friday. The Vikings haven't had any issues with the Thunderbirds recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.
Dylan Morgan looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Scotty McKeown was incredible, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, one triple, and one double. Another player making a difference was Pierce Ledford, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.
Pleasant Valley pushed their record up to 1-1 with the win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.3 runs over those games. As for Del Oro, their record now sits at 4-1.
Del Oro came out on top in a nail-biter against Pleasant Valley in their previous matchup back in March of 2023, sneaking past 5-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for Del Oro since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
