Falcons
| 03/28/25 vs Santa Cruz | 2 |
| 03/25/25 @ Harbor | 5 |
| 03/22/25 @ Monte Vista Christian | 8 |
| 03/21/25 @ Aptos | 9 |
| 03/18/25 vs Santa Teresa | 2 |
| + 6 more games |
The Scotts Valley Falcons will face off against the Palma Chieftains at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Scotts Valley is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.5 runs per game this season.
Scotts Valley came up short against Santa Cruz on Friday, falling 9-2. The Falcons have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Scotts Valley saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Clayton Pryor, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base. Pryor has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
Meanwhile, Palma's rock-solid pitcher showed up for the team's fifth consecutive shutout on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Salinas a 12-0 shutout. Considering the Chieftains have won six contests by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Manny Dorantes 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 ten over five innings pitched. Those ten strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Palma let Alan Gonzalez and Johnny Carnazzo run wild. Gonzalez got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and two RBI, while Carnazzo went a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBI and one run. Those four RBI gave Carnazzo a new career-high. Aiden Veliz was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Palma always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in four consecutive matches.
Palma pushed their record up to 7-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.6 runs over those games. As for Scotts Valley, they now have a losing record of 5-6.
Saturday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Scotts Valley has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .437. However, it's not like Palma struggles in that department as they've averaged .457. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Scotts Valley couldn't quite finish off Palma in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 and fell 3-1. Will Scotts Valley have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
