Baseball Game Preview: Rancho Rams vs. Valley Vikings

Rancho is a perfect 9-0 against Valley since April of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Rams will look to defend their home field against the Vikings at 3:30 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.

Rancho easily dispatched Valley on Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Rams fell just short of Foothill by a score of 7-5 on Wednesday.

Jonathan Ramos

Runs

04/23/25 @ Foothill	3
04/09/25 @ Western	3
04/07/25 vs Western	3
03/28/25 @ Green Valley	3
03/06/25 vs Eldorado	3
+ 13 more games

Jonathan Ramos was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching six innings while giving up just two earned (and five unearned) runs off six hits. Ramos was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and three runs. He has become a key player for Rancho: the team is 6-3 when he posts at least two runs, but 5-13 otherwise.

In other batting news, Mayson Au Young-Uwaine and Brady Paulson stepped up to the plate in a big way. Au Young-Uwaine went 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Paulson went 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their 11th straight loss. They lost 7-0 to Rancho.

Rancho has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 11-16 record this season. As for Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-11.

Everything went Rancho's way against Valley in their previous meeting on Tuesday, as Rancho made off with a 7-0 win. Do the Rams have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vikings turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.