The Cloverdale Eagles will challenge the Sonoma Academy Coyotes at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Having struggled with eight defeats in a row dating back to last season, Cloverdale turned things around against Willits on Wednesday. Everything went their way against the Wolverines as they made off with a 13-3 win. The Eagles not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since April 3, 2024.
Austin Axell made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. Axell was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nolan Axell, who scored three runs and stole Four bases. while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in runs. Another player making a difference was Jordan Huls, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Sonoma Academy gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Wednesday. They blew past San Domenico 17-2.
Like Cloverdale, Sonoma Academy also got a great game from a two-way player: Noah Proctor. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). Proctor was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring four runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Ann Tyko was a standout: he went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI and one run. Madden Pelkey was another key player, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and one stolen base.
Sonoma Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .649. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as San Domenico only posted an OBP of .318.
Cloverdale skirted past Sonoma Academy 9-8 when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Will Cloverdale repeat their success, or does Sonoma Academy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
