The West Valley Eagles will face off against the Yreka Miners at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with West Valley sitting on 17 straight victories and Yreka on five.
Last Thursday, West Valley got the win against Lassen by a conclusive 13-1. Considering the Eagles have won 14 matchups by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Trent Nehls
| 05/08/25 vs Lassen | 3 |
| 04/22/25 @ Anderson | 2 |
| 04/08/25 vs Central Valley | 2 |
| 04/04/25 @ Yreka | 2 |
| 03/07/25 vs Foothill | 2 |
Trent Nehls made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Nehls was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gunner Church, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Jayden Knight, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one double.
West Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .560. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .360 or higher in eight consecutive games.
Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Yreka had no trouble coming through when it counted. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over Orland on Tuesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Miners have posted since April 19, 2024.
Brody Zediker spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up seven Ks. He is becoming a predictor of Yreka's success: when he allows at most two earned runs the team is 5-2 (and 6-11 when he doesn't).
At the plate, Yreka's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Gabe Gregg, who went 1-for-4 with one run and one double.
West Valley pushed their record up to 19-3 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Yreka, their victory bumped their record up to 11-13.
Both West Valley and Yreka just can't seem to miss. The Eagles have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.5 hits per game. However, it's not like Yreka struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.3 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went West Valley's way against Yreka when the teams last played back in April, as West Valley made off with a 13-6 win. Will the Eagles repeat their success, or do the Miners have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
