Poly hasn't had much luck against Paloma Valley recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Bears will head out to challenge the Wildcats at 3:15 p.m. Poly is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last four games.
Poly's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They put the hurt on Heritage with a sharp 9-0 victory. The game was the first time the Bears have beaten the Patriots on their field since March 2, 2023.
Carter Athens looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched.
Jake Cevallos
| 04/17/26 @ Heritage | 3 |
| 02/25/26 @ Oak Hills | 2 |
| 04/15/26 vs Heritage | 1 |
| 04/10/26 vs Liberty | 1 |
| 04/08/26 @ Liberty | 1 |
At the plate, Poly let Jake Cevallos and Jayden Hicks run wild. Cevallos got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three runs, two doubles, and two RBI, while Hicks went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run. Those three runs gave Cevallos a new career-high. Matt Henry was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two runs.
Poly hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Paloma Valley). They were the clear victors by a 13-3 margin over JW North on Saturday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Wildcats with their most commanding win of the season.
Nico Buscemi looked comfortable as he tossed 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He is becoming a predictor of Paloma Valley's success: when he allows at most three hits the team is 4-2 (and 7-8 when he doesn't).
On the hitting side, Wyatt Smith was incredible, going 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Paloma Valley is 3-1 when Smith posts two or more stolen bases, but 8-9 otherwise. Erik Reece also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Paloma Valley now has a winning record of 11-10. As for Poly, their record now sits at 13-5.
Poly was able to grind out a solid win over Paloma Valley in their previous matchup back in March, winning 6-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
