Pinole Valley is a perfect 7-0 against Salesian College Preparatory since April of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Spartans will host the Pride at 4:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Pinole Valley has three straight victories, Salesian College Preparatory has ten straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Pinole Valley not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since April 17, 2024. They were the clear victors by an 8-1 margin over Saint Mary's.
Ivan Rojo
| 04/04/25 @ Saint Mary's | 4 |
| 03/28/25 @ Vanden | 2 |
| 03/18/25 vs Las Lomas | 2 |
| 03/13/25 vs Justin-Siena | 2 |
| 04/02/25 vs Saint Mary's | 1 |
Ivan Rojo made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. He is becoming a predictor of Pinole Valley's success: when he allows at most one hit the team is 2-1 (and 1-7-1 when he doesn't). Rojo was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 4-for-4. Those four hits gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jaylen Smalls, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (three). Another player making a difference was Charles Vargas, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases and one RBI.
Pinole Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Salesian College Preparatory came up short against St. Patrick-St. Vincent on Saturday and fell 6-2.
Like Pinole Valley, Salesian College Preparatory also got a great game from a two-way player: Evan Vela. He pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. That's the fewest hits Vela has allowed since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one double.
Vela wasn't the only one making solid contact as seven players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Santiago Lopez, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. That stolen base marked the first that Lopez snagged this season.
Salesian College Preparatory's defeat dropped their record down to 1-11. As for Pinole Valley, their win bumped their record up to 3-8-1.
Pinole Valley took their victory against Salesian College Preparatory in their previous matchup back in March of 2023 by a conclusive 10-0 score. Will the Spartans repeat their success, or do the Pride have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
