Baseball Recap: Make It Three in a Row for Pinole Valley

Pinole Valley not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since April 17, 2024. They put the hurt on the Saint Mary's Panthers with a sharp 8-1 victory. The win was familiar territory for the Spartans, who have now won three games in a row.

Ivan Rojo

Hits (Career)

04/04/25 @ Saint Mary's	4
03/28/25 @ Vanden	2
03/18/25 vs Las Lomas	2
03/13/25 vs Justin-Siena	2
04/02/25 vs Saint Mary's	1

Ivan Rojo made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Pinole Valley is 2-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 1-7-1 otherwise. Rojo was also big at the plate, 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). Rey Malan also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

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.

Pinole Valley's record is now 3-8-1. As for Saint Mary's, their defeat was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 2-8.

Coming up, Pinole Valley will host Salesian College Preparatory at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. As for Saint Mary's, they will venture away from home to challenge Bishop O'Dowd at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.