Salesian College Preparatory hasn't had much luck against Pinole Valley recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Pride will head out on the road to square off against the Spartans at 4:00 p.m.
Salesian College Preparatory is headed into Wednesday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their tenth straight game on Saturday. They fell 6-2 to St. Patrick-St. Vincent.
Evan Vela was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one double.
Vela wasn't the only one making solid contact as seven players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Santiago Lopez, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. That stolen base marked the first that Lopez snagged this season.
Meanwhile, Pinole Valley waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. Everything went their way against the Panthers as they made off with an 8-1 victory. That seven run margin sets a new team best for the Spartans this season.
Like Salesian College Preparatory, Pinole Valley also got a great game from a two-way player: Ivan Rojo. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. Rojo has become a key player for Pinole Valley: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one hit, but 1-7-1 otherwise. Rojo was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 4-for-4. Those four hits gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jaylen Smalls, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (three). Another player making a difference was Charles Vargas, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases and one RBI.
Pinole Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Salesian College Preparatory's defeat dropped their record down to 1-11. As for Pinole Valley, their record is now 3-8-1.
Salesian College Preparatory might still be hurting after the 10-0 loss they got from Pinole Valley when the teams last played back in March of 2023. Can the Pride avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
