Baseball Game Preview: Berkeley Yellowjackets vs. Castro Valley Trojans

For the second straight game, Berkeley will face off against Castro Valley. The Yellowjackets will be playing in front of their home fans against the Trojans at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.

Berkeley managed to slip by Castro Valley the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Yellowjackets lost 7-1 to the Trojans on Wednesday. The Yellowjackets have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

For Castro Valley's part, Scott Baldwin spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits. Baldwin has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Alex Nicol and David Colon did most of the damage at the plate: Nicol went a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI, while Colon scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. That's the most stolen bases Colon has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Anthony Mares, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Castro Valley pushed their record up to 13-4 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.2 runs on average over those games. As for Berkeley, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-9.

Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Berkeley hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Castro Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.