Baseball Game Preview: North Salinas Vikings vs. San Lorenzo Valley Cougars

The North Salinas Vikings are taking a road trip to square off against the San Lorenzo Valley Cougars at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. San Lorenzo Valley took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on North Salinas, who comes in off a win.

North Salinas had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 15-run drubbing they dealt Gonzales on Thursday. The Vikings' pitcher stepped up to hand the Spartans a 15-0 shutout. The game marked the Vikings' most dominant win of the season so far.

David Avina

Hits

04/03/25 @ Gonzales	3
03/22/25 @ Everett Alvarez	1
03/04/25 @ Monte Vista Christian	2
03/01/25 @ Gunn	1
05/04/24 vs Stevenson	1
+ 7 more games

Preston Hobbs and David Avina did most of the damage at the plate: Hobbs scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Avina scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3. That's the most hits Avina has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jake Burkhardt, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two RBI and one double.

North Salinas always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .730. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, San Lorenzo Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their seventh straight defeat. They took a 6-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of Scotts Valley.

Jordan Renteria was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he pitched six innings while giving up just one earned (and five unearned) runs off five hits.

On the hitting side, Jaden Shabry was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 1-for-4. Dominic Aguilar also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

The victory got North Salinas back to even at 3-3. As for San Lorenzo Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 1-10.

North Salinas might still be hurting after the 17-2 defeat they got from San Lorenzo Valley when the teams last played back in May of 2019. Can the Vikings avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.