Piedmont Hills is 0-3 against Homestead since April of 2022 but things could change on Saturday. The Pirates will venture away from home to square off against the Mustangs at 1:00 p.m. Piedmont Hills is coming into the contest hot, having won their last eight games.
Piedmont Hills' pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over Oak Grove. The Pirates might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 games by seven runs or more this season.
Toby Torres
| 05/06/25 @ Oak Grove | 3 |
| 05/03/25 @ Leland | 3 |
| 05/08/25 vs Oak Grove | 2 |
| 04/15/25 @ Hill | 2 |
| 04/10/25 @ Evergreen Valley | 2 |
| + 12 more games |
Travis Linane and Toby Torres made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Linane didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Torres tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Linane has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. At the plate, Linane went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI, while Torres went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one double. Torres is becoming a predictor of Piedmont Hills' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 7-8 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Josh Gomez was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Alex Bustamante, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one RBI.
Piedmont Hills always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Oak Grove only posted an OBP of .118.
Meanwhile, Homestead hadn't done well against Palo Alto recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Mustangs narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Vikings 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Mustangs have posted since May 1, 2024.
Homestead's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Arya Jangity, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double. Ajay Lohitsa was another, going 2-for-3 with two runs.
Piedmont Hills pushed their record up to 16-8 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs over those games. As for Homestead, their record now sits at 11-13.
Homestead's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Piedmont Hills has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .437. It's a different story for Homestead, though, as they've only averaged .341. Will they be able to contain Piedmont Hills' hitters?
Piedmont Hills couldn't quite finish off Homestead in their previous meeting back in March and fell 6-4. Can the Pirates avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
