Baseball Preview: Vale Vikings vs. Umatilla Vikings
Vale is 8-0 against Umatilla since April of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Vale Vikings will head out on the road to take on the Umatilla Vikings at 1:00 p.m.
Vale will head into Tuesday's match ready to turn things around: they couldn't quite beat Nyssa last Tuesday but the two-point margin was a huge improvement compared to the 24-point loss they were dealt on April 8th. Vale fell just short of Nyssa by a score of 11-9. Vale has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, Umatilla has not done well against Burns recently (they were 0-7 in their previous seven matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Umatilla won by a run and slipped past Burns 12-11. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Umatilla considering their one-run performance the matchup before.
R.J. Estrada and Carter Monahan made a big impact while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Estrada pitched five innings while giving up four earned (and six unearned) runs off five hits. Meanwhile, Monahan pitched two innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Estrada scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-5, while Monahan scored three runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-5.
In other batting news, David Garcia was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Vale's defeat dropped their record down to 2-7. As for Umatilla, their win ended a five-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-8.
Vale beat Umatilla 11-8 in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Vale since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
