Baseball Game Preview: Rio Vista Eagles vs. Western Hills Cougars

The Rio Vista Eagles will hit the road for the first time this season to face off against the Western Hills Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Rio Vista will be strutting in after a victory while Western Hills will be coming in after a loss.

Rio Vista is headed out to face Western Hills after opening their season at home and giving their fans just what they were looking for. Rio Vista blew past Keene 21-4 on Monday. The win continues a trend for the Eagles in their matchups with the Chargers: they've now won five in a row.

Slate Campbell

Batters Struck Out (Career)

02/17/25 vs Keene	8
04/23/24 @ Italy	6
04/02/24 vs Itasca	3
03/12/24 @ Valley Mills	3
03/02/24 vs Cayuga	3

Slate Campbell made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts. He was even better at the plate, scoring four runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances.

In other batting news, Rio Vista got a massive performance out of Anthony Zepeda, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in five of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Dawson Biggs, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs.

Meanwhile, Western Hills started off well but failed to capitalize on an early lead against Pinkston. They lost 19-11 to the Vikings on Monday. While the Cougars didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Vikings 4-0 in the first period.

Like Rio Vista, Western Hills also got a great game from a two-way player: Axel Sanchez. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. Sanchez was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

In other batting news, Rodolfo Sandoval was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.