Baseball Game Preview: King's Academy Knights vs. Scotts Valley Falcons

The King's Academy Knights will face off against the Scotts Valley Falcons at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The last three games King's Academy has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when King's Academy and Menlo-Atherton meet (six straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Friday. The Knights wound up with the same score they had in their last game (5-4), but sadly the team found themselves on the wrong side of the score this time.

Nate Plata made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and one double. That home run was his first of the season.

Meanwhile, Scotts Valley fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against Santa Cruz on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Cardinals by a score of 5-4. The Falcons' loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

Scotts Valley saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kit Deforest, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Scotts Valley now has a losing record of 10-11. As for King's Academy, they dropped their record down to 9-9 with the defeat, which was their third straight at home.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. King's Academy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Scotts Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

King's Academy suffered a grim 8-2 defeat to Scotts Valley in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will the Knights have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.