El Cerrito has been on the road for three straight, but on Saturday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Pinole Valley Spartans at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. El Cerrito and Pinole Valley are at an even 5-5 over their past ten head-to-heads.
Last Thursday, El Cerrito didn't have quite enough to beat Alameda and fell 3-2. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for El Cerrito in their matchups with Alameda: they've now lost three in a row.
Max Garcia and Caleb Shavers put in work while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Garcia pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Shavers tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. At the plate, Garcia scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3, while Shavers went 2-for-2 with a stolen base and an RBI.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Mike Vanhook, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Pinole Valley waltzed into their match on Wednesday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They never let the Gauchos onto the board and left with a 10-0 win. That ten run margin sets a new team best for Pinole Valley this season.
Like El Cerrito, Pinole Valley also got a great game from a two-way player: Rey Malan. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over six innings pitched. Malan has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive pitching appearances. Malan was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Daniel Rios, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Kimoni Lake, who scored two runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
El Cerrito's loss dropped their record down to 8-6. As for Pinole Valley, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. El Cerrito has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pinole Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
El Cerrito suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Pinole Valley in their previous matchup on Wednesday. Will El Cerrito have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
