Baseball Game Preview: Watsonville Wildcatz vs. Marina Mariners

For the second straight game, Watsonville will face off against Marina. The Wildcatz will be playing in front of their home fans against the Mariners at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Watsonville has six straight wins, Marina has eight straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Watsonville's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They put the hurt on Marina with a sharp 15-0 victory.

Rudy Valdez

Batters Struck Out (Career)

04/07/25 @ Marina	11
04/03/25 @ Pajaro Valley	10
02/28/25 vs Pacheco	10
03/25/25 @ Gonzales	8
03/15/25 @ Harbor	6

Rudy Valdez made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing four bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. He also brought in three RBI, which is notable because Watsonville is undefeated when he posts at least three RBI, but 3-9 otherwise.

In other batting news, Patrick Miller - Brown was a standout: he went 1-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Brody Barto was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.

Watsonville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .348 or higher in seven consecutive contests.

Watsonville's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-9. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Marina, their loss dropped their record down to 0-8.

Marina's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Watsonville hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .344. It's a different story for Marina, though, as they've only averaged .085. Will they be able to contain Watsonville's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.