Baseball Recap: Portola Triumphs

Portola's game last Wednesday was a loss, but they didn't let that memory haunt them on Friday. They came out on top against the Virginia City Muckers by a score of 13-8. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Muckers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Joe Leal

Batters Struck Out (Career)

03/28/25 vs Virginia City	8
03/01/25 @ Hug	3
04/27/24 @ Chester	2
04/26/24 vs Redding Christian	2
04/19/24 @ Quincy	1

Joe Leal made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just two earned (and six unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk). Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2. He has become a key player for Portola: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 0-3 otherwise.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Bradley Silva, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. He is becoming a predictor of Portola's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 1-3 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Ricky Richardson, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.

Portola always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Virginia City only posted an OBP of .294.

Portola now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Virginia City, their loss dropped their record down to 2-7.

Looking ahead, a feisty cat fight will be fought as Portola Tigers duke it out with Maxwell Panthers at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Maxwell's pitching crew has only allowed 1.7 runs per game this season, so Portola's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Virginia City, they didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next contest, a 15-0 defeat against Smith Valley on the 29th.