Encinal hasn't had much luck against Castro Valley recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Jets will challenge the Trojans at 7:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Encinal 3.8, Castro Valley 3.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Encinal barely beat Piedmont the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Jets put the hurt on the Highlanders with a sharp 6-0 win on Monday. The Jets have beaten the Highlanders the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Highlanders has come to flipping the script.
Piedmont's batters probably weren't too happy with Kyle Cooke, who pitched a no hitter and racked up ten Ks (he gave up a single walk).
On the hitting side, Matan Antebi was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in May of 2024. Eric Proctor was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Encinal kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Castro Valley had already won four in a row and they went ahead and made it five on Monday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 4-3 W against the Dragons. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last three times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Castro Valley also got a great performance from Scott Baldwin as he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. Baldwin has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 12 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on David Colon, who went 1-for-3 with one home run. Another player making a difference was Gilbert Seidel, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one double.
Encinal pushed their record up to 17-8 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Castro Valley, their record now sits at 20-5.
Encinal couldn't quite finish off Castro Valley in their previous matchup last Friday and fell 2-0. Can the Jets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
