Pinole Valley entered their tilt with Albany with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Albany Cougars 6-5. That's more bragging rights for Pinole Valley, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.
Max Castro made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched two innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (he also only allowed one walk). Castro was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other pitching news, Pinole Valley got a great performance from Gael Castellanos as he pitched five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits.
Back at the plate, Charles Vargas was excellent, scoring a run while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was Craig Jensen, who went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
On Albany's side, Jude Hatamiya was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits (he also only allowed one walk).
On the hitting side, Dexter Johnson made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a double. Preston McGowen was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Pinole Valley is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a massive bump to their 8-5 record this season. As for Albany, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-5.
The teams didn't have to wait long for a rematch: Pinole Valley beat Albany by a score of 6-4.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
