Baseball Game Preview: De Anza Dons vs. Albany Cougars

De Anza is preparing for their first league matchup of the season on Wednesday. They will take on the Albany Cougars at 4:00 p.m. Neither of those teams managed to put together many runs in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.

De Anza came into this matchup off a tough 11-run loss on Friday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Tamalpais by a score of 3-1 on Saturday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Dons have suffered since May 15, 2024.

Ty Willson spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on four hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.

At the plate, De Anza saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Zion Shott, who scored a run while going 1-for-2. Shott also brought in an RBI, marking his first of the season.

The home team had come away the winner the last five times Albany and Alhambra had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. Albany lost 10-1 to Alhambra on Monday. The loss continues a trend for the Cougars in their meetings with the Bulldogs: they've now lost four in a row.

Albany's defeat dropped their record down to 7-4. As for De Anza, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 1-6-1.

De Anza skirted past Albany 3-2 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for De Anza since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.