The Volcano Vista Hawks will be taking part in a tournament against the Valley Vikings at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Volcano Vista is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against St. Pius X on Saturday as Volcano Vista made off with an 18-7 win. The victory continues a trend for the Hawks in their matchups with the Sartans: they've now won six in a row.
Alijah Romero was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Romero was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Noah Massey, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. That home run was his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Preston Urquidez, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Volcano Vista always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .658. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Valley faced Atrisco Heritage Academy in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. Everything went Valley's way against Atrisco Heritage Academy as Valley made off with a 12-2 win. The Vikings might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by ten runs or more this season.
Thomas Velarde was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. Anthony Chavez was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one home run and four RBI.
Volcano Vista pushed their record up to 6-4 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Valley, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
Tuesday's match might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Volcano Vista has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .457. However, it's not like Valley struggles in that department as they've averaged .437. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Volcano Vista came out on top in a nail-biter against Valley when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 9-7. Does Volcano Vista have another victory up their sleeve, or will Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
