The Chico Panthers will challenge the Pleasant Valley Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Chico is coming into the match hot, having won their last eight games.
It was a proper cat-fight when Chico took on Foothill two weeks ago. The Panthers walked away with a 6-1 victory over the Cougars.
Jaden Neugebauer
| 05/02/25 @ Foothill | 10 |
| 03/28/25 @ Enterprise | 9 |
| 04/25/25 vs Pleasant Valley | 7 |
| 04/19/24 vs Foothill | 6 |
| 03/08/24 vs Foothill | 6 |
Jaden Neugebauer made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off seven hits. Those ten strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple.
In other batting news, Jaxxon Tweedt was excellent, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Chico was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .406. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .310 or higher in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Pleasant Valley had no problem doing just that on Tuesday. They won by a run and slipped past the Wolves 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Vikings have posted since April 11th.
Trent Soinila looked comfortable as he pitched 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 13 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Giuseppe Bianchi, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Chico pushed their record up to 25-1 with the victory, which was their ninth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Pleasant Valley, they now have a winning record of 15-14.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Chico has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pleasant Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Chico came out on top in a nail-biter against Pleasant Valley in their previous meeting back in April, sneaking past 7-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
