Baseball Game Preview: Paloma Valley Wildcats vs. Norco Cougars

The Paloma Valley Wildcats will head out on the road to take on the Norco Cougars at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. The last four games Paloma Valley has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Paloma Valley will bounce into Saturday's matchup after beating Temecula Valley, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Wildcats came out on top in a nail-biter against the Golden Bears on Friday, sneaking past 5-3.

Meanwhile, Norco unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Great Oak.

Norco had to settle for second despite strong performances on the mound from Vincent Rodriquez and Michael Montoya Rodriquez pitched 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits, while Montoya tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Rodriquez also tossed no walks, which is notable because Norco is 3-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 5-6 otherwise.

At the plate, Norco saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Marcus Blanton, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base. Blanton has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.

Paloma Valley is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Norco, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-7.

Paloma Valley took their win against Norco in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 9-0 score. Do the Wildcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cougars turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.