Baseball Game Preview: Palma Chieftains vs. Soledad Aztecs

Palma is 8-1-1 against Soledad since February of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Chieftains will look to defend their home field against the Aztecs at 4:00 p.m. Palma will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each game than the last.

Palma is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 20-5 margin over St. Francis on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Chieftains, who have now won 13 matchups by six runs or more so far this season.

Wyatt Bakker

Hits (Career)

05/13/25 @ St. Francis	3
05/10/25 vs Monterey	2
04/17/25 @ Soledad	2
04/12/25 vs Saint Francis	2
03/29/25 @ Scotts Valley	2

Wyatt Bakker was a standout: he got on base in all five of his plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and one double. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in hits (three). Another player making a difference was Rocco Razzeca, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.

Palma always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .619. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Soledad ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They skirted past Monterey 2-1. The win was some much needed relief for the Aztecs as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.

Jordan Nichols and Daniel Valenzuela Jr did most of the damage at the plate: Nichols went a perfect 3-for-3 with one RBI, while Valenzuela Jr went 2-for-3 with one triple.

Palma pushed their record up to 19-6 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.2 runs over those games. As for Soledad, their victory bumped their record up to 9-16.

Palma beat Soledad 7-2 in their previous meeting back in April. Will the Chieftains repeat their success, or do the Aztecs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.