Baseball Game Preview: Soledad Aztecs vs. Palma Chieftains

Soledad hasn't had much luck against Palma recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Aztecs are taking a road trip to challenge the Chieftains at 4:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

The scorekeeper got an easy start on Tuesday as neither Soledad nor Monterey made it on the board until the eighth inning. The Aztecs skirted past the Dores 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Aztecs have posted since May 9, 2024.

Jordan Nichols

Hits (Career)

05/13/25 vs Monterey	3
03/04/25 vs North Monterey County	2
05/10/25 @ Liberty	1
04/08/25 vs Monterey	1

Jordan Nichols and Daniel Valenzuela Jr did most of the damage at the plate: Nichols went a perfect 3-for-3 with one RBI, while Valenzuela Jr went 2-for-3 with one triple. Those three hits gave Nichols a new career-high.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Palma). They blew past St. Francis 20-5 on Tuesday. The Chieftains might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 13 matches by six runs or more this season.

Wyatt Bakker was a standout: he got on base in all five of his plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Rocco Razzeca was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.

Palma kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 12 hits in three consecutive contests.

Palma has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.4 runs over those games. As for Soledad, the victory snapped their losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 9-16 record.

Soledad came up short against Palma in their previous matchup back in April, falling 7-2. Can the Aztecs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.