Baseball Game Preview: University Prep Panthers vs. West Valley Eagles

University Prep is 2-8 against West Valley since April of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Panthers will square off against the Eagles at 4:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

University Prep was handed an eight-run loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Modoc 6-5.

Cade Ryan

Batters Struck Out

04/29/26 vs Modoc	6
04/28/26 vs West Valley	0
04/23/26 @ Central Valley	2
04/16/26 @ Lassen	2
04/09/26 @ Morro Bay	4
+ 5 more games

Cade Ryan tossed a big game, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in February.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Luca Snell, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. He is becoming a predictor of University Prep's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 5-13-1 when he doesn't).

Meanwhile, West Valley had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 9-1 margin over the Panthers. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won 11 games by six runs or more so far this season.

West Valley's win bumped their record up to 16-5. As for University Prep, their victory bumped their record up to 8-13-1.

University Prep suffered a grim 9-1 defeat to West Valley in their previous meeting on Tuesday. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.