Baseball Game Preview: Piedmont Hills Pirates vs. Willow Glen Rams

The Piedmont Hills Pirates will head out on the road to square off against the Willow Glen Rams at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Piedmont Hills blew Pioneer out of the water the last time the pair played, but on Saturday Pioneer got their revenge. Piedmont Hills fell just short of Pioneer by a score of 8-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Pirates have suffered since April 24, 2024.

Toby Torres was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Willow Glen, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Ann Sobrato a 5-0 shutout on Tuesday. The Rams haven't had any issues with the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.

Spencer Bartlinski made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over six innings pitched. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.

Bartlinski wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Miles Austin, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-1.

Willow Glen hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in five consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Piedmont Hills now has a losing record of 1-2. As for Willow Glen, their record now sits at 3-1.

Piedmont Hills came up short against Willow Glen in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 5-0. Can Piedmont Hills avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.