The Encinal Jets will take on the Castro Valley Trojans at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Encinal has six straight wins, Castro Valley has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Thursday, Encinal sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 7-5 victory over Piedmont.
Kyle Cooke looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
Enzi-Yaw Otieku
| 05/07/26 vs Piedmont | 3 |
| 03/26/26 vs Bishop O'Dowd | 2 |
| 04/03/26 @ Oakland Tech | 1 |
| 03/24/26 @ Bishop O'Dowd | 1 |
On the hitting side, Enzi-Yaw Otieku and Matan Antebi did most of the damage at the plate: Otieku went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one double, while Antebi went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Those three RBI gave Otieku a new career-high. Evan Furuichi was another key player, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Castro Valley lost 8-1 to Alameda on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Trojans have suffered against the Hornets since April 19, 2023.
Castro Valley also got a good showing from Amani Rios, who pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Furthermore, Rios didn't allow a single walk, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in April.
At the plate, Castro Valley saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Sam Galli, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Castro Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 10-16. As for Encinal, their win bumped their record up to 18-6.
Encinal got the 'W' in their previous meeting last Thursday against Castro Valley by a conclusive 12-3 score. Do the Jets have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Trojans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
