The Piedmont Hills Pirates will venture away from home to square off against the Willow Glen Rams at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Piedmont Hills made easy work of Evergreen Valley and carried off a 12-5 win. The Pirates might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by seven runs or more this season.
Jake Paskert and Christian Bustamante were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Paskert pitched five innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits. Meanwhile, Bustamante pitched two 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 one walk in six consecutive appearances. At the plate, Paskert scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4, while Bustamante scored a run while going 1-for-3. That's the most stolen bases Paskert has posted since back in April of 2024.
Alex Tran
| 04/08/25 vs Evergreen Valley | 4 |
| 04/10/25 @ Evergreen Valley | 3 |
| 04/03/25 vs Del Mar | 3 |
| 03/29/25 @ Gilroy | 3 |
| 03/22/25 @ Leigh | 2 |
| + 6 more games |
In other batting news, Alex Tran was a standout: he scored two runs while going 3-for-4. He has become a key player for Piedmont Hills: the team is undefeated when he posts at least three hits, but 4-7 otherwise. Toby Torres was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Willow Glen, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Live Oak a 5-0 shutout on Friday. The Rams haven't had any issues with the Acorns recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Dante Pini looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Kaiden Pan, who scored a run and stole four bases while going 2-for-2. Gavin Holmes also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Willow Glen pushed their record up to 9-4 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Piedmont Hills, they now have a winning record of 8-7.
Saturday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Piedmont Hills hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .347. However, it's not like Willow Glen struggles in that department as they've averaged .320. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Piedmont Hills couldn't quite get it done against Willow Glen in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 as they fell 5-0. Can the Pirates avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
