Albany dropped their record down to 14-6 on Wednesday, which also ended the team's four-game streak of wins at home. They came up short against the Pinole Valley Spartans, falling 11-2. The Cougars were not able to make up for their loss to the Spartans from their previous meeting back in April of 2024.
Willem Loveless was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Mikey Richards, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one double.
As for Pinole Valley, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-9-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games.
On Pinole Valley's side, Rey Malan spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on seven hits. Malan also tossed no walks, which is notable because the Spartans are undefeated when he allows at most one walk, but 5-9-1 otherwise.
On the hitting side, JT Broas-Jew and Charles Vargas did most of the damage at the plate: Broas-Jew went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple, while Vargas went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Pinole Valley is undefeated when Broas-Jew posts two or more stolen bases, but 5-9-1 otherwise. Gael Castellanos was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
While Albany had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
