East Valley is 1-9 against Sherman Oaks CES since May of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Falcons will square off against the Knights at 2:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with East Valley sitting on four straight victories and Sherman Oaks CES on five.
East Valley proved they can win big on Friday (they won by 11) and on Wednesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They had just enough and edged out Canoga Park 5-4.
Emilio Martinez
| 05/07/25 vs Canoga Park | 1 |
| 05/02/25 @ Northridge Academy | 0 |
| 04/23/25 vs Reseda | 1 |
| 04/02/25 @ Canoga Park | 2 |
Emilio Martinez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Mike Aguirre, who went 1-for-2 with one triple and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Justin Lin, who went 1-for-2 with one triple and one run.
East Valley hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Sherman Oaks CES). They put the hurt on Panorama with a sharp 27-0 win on Wednesday. The Knights might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 contests by seven runs or more this season.
Nicholas Bilicic and Colin Hauser were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Bilicic struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Meanwhile, Hauser tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, he posted two strikeouts, the most he's had since back in May of 2024. At bat, Bilicic went 1-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double, while Hauser went 3-for-5 with three stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI.
In other batting news, Caleb Steinbach was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three doubles. Anthony Medrano was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI.
Sherman Oaks CES pushed their record up to 12-3 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 17.3 runs over those games. As for East Valley, their record now sits at 9-4.
