The Soquel Knights will head out to challenge the Westmont Warriors at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Soquel is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
While Soquel's win against Willow Glen wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. Soquel won by a run and slipped past Willow Glen 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Knights have posted since April 25, 2024.
Gabe Virgallito was a standout: he scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Sam Whelan also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Westmont). They never let Milpitas get on the board and left with an 11-0 win on Saturday. The Warriors not only won on Saturday, but they posted their biggest win since April 16, 2024.
Vinnie Moreno made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. Moreno was also big at the plate, going 1-for-5 with one triple and two RBI.
In other batting news, Peyton Hines and Kainoa Raub did most of the damage at the plate: Hines went 4-for-5 with three runs, one triple, and one RBI, while Raub scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Those four hits gave Hines a new career-high. Roman Soto was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Westmont always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .523. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Soquel's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Westmont, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-3-1.
Soquel might still be hurting after the 8-2 loss they got from Westmont when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can Soquel avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
