Baseball Game Preview: Downey Vikings vs. Bellflower Buccaneers

For the second straight game, Downey will face off against Bellflower. The Vikings will head out on the road to face off against the Buccaneers at 3:15 p.m. on Friday. Downey's pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so Bellflower's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Downey took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They skirted past Bellflower 6-5.

Jeff Pinal tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over six innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk any time he's pitched this season.

Chris Palacios

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/15/26 vs Bellflower	4
02/27/26 vs Loara	2
03/17/26 vs Warren	1
03/04/26 vs Venice	1
02/24/26 @ Torrance	1

At the plate, Eddie Causley and Chris Palacios did most of the damage at the plate: Causley got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs and one triple, while Palacios went 2-for-3 with four RBI and one double. Those four RBI gave Palacios a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Nick Segura, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI.

Downey has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-9 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Bellflower, they dropped their record down to 8-14 with the loss, which was their seventh straight on the road.