SARATOGA -- Following a strong, bounce-back victory, No. 19 West Valley fell in a ranked matchup against No. 12 Skyline on Thursday afternoon, just a couple of weeks before the start of a new conference slate. After starting their season with nine wins in their first ten games, the Vikings (10-5) have dropped four of their last five games and fallen within the state rankings. Against a strong, red-hot Skyline team, the Trojans (13-3) twirled four double plays and caught a would-be tying run trying to take second, as the Vikings fell 8-6.

Tre LaGrone III took the ball for the Vikings, making his team-leading fourth start to the season. LaGrone (2-2) was one of West Valley's best players early in the season, but labored through two-plus innings of work against Skyline. After getting a ground ball back to him to start the game, the next five Skyline hitters reached base, with centerfielder Brayden Smith hitting a two-run home run and third baseman Makai Susor knocking a two-run double to spark the damage in the first.

But West Valley, which has played with a deficit in a handful of its games already this season, struck twice in the bottom of the first as well. Another new-look lineup took the field for the Vikings, with Joey Damelio getting the designation at the top of the order. He became the fifth different Viking to lead off the last five games, with David Estrada, Max Ghiglieri, Parker Kristall and Eric Altmark all getting looks atop the lineup as well. Damelio roped a double to start the Vikings' half of the first inning before Kristall singled him home. After Kristall moved to third on a wild pitch, Estrada's single brought him home and cut a four-run deficit to just two.

Estrada, the preseason All-American who has had an up-and-down season to this point, is absolutely peaking at the right time for the Vikings. In their previous victory over Solano, Estrada went 2-for-3 and doubled while driving in four runs. He reached base twice against the Trojans as well.

After Skyline added on one more in the second and took a leadoff walk in the third, LaGrone's day was done. In total, the lefty lasted just two innings while giving up five runs, walking three without a strikeout. Sophomore Bryce Berry followed and immediately delivered, striking out the first five batters he faced, as part of seven total in 3.2 innings of one-run ball. Over his last three outings, Berry has totaled 8.2 innings with 16 strikeouts to just three walks. On the season, he's averaging 17.1 strikeouts per nine innings after tallying just under nine on the same ratio as a freshman.

West Valley had its leadoff runner on in each of the Vikings' first seven innings. But from the second through the sixth, Skyline pitching faced just one batter over the minimum thanks to four Viking double plays. It wasn't a matter of poor contact or poor at-bat quality, but every ball seemed to find the pocket of a Skyline glove as the Vikings were held to a 6-2 deficit after six and a half innings.

Finally, the Vikings came through in the bottom of the seventh. Catcher Kaden Smith and shortstop Bobby Hill each singled before Altmark eached on a fielders' choice to put runners on the corners. Ghiglieri struck out, but Damelio punched a single through the left side to bring the score to 6-3, still in favor of Skyline. Kristall and Montez followed, each by being hit by a pitch, and the Vikings brought home another run with momentum on their side.

Skyline caught its momentum right back, scoring single runs in the eighth and ninth when Brayden Smith's groundout brought home one run, and Jack Ruegg's bases-loaded walk brought home another. On the day, Smith went 3-for-6 with a home run and drove in five runs.

Never one to die quickly, the Vikings' first two in the ninth went down quietly. But Damelio singled, part of a day where he went 3-for-4 and reached base four times in his debut at the top of the Vikings' lineup. Kristall absolutely demolished a home run, soaring 440 feet off the bat to dead-center to cut the deficit to two. After Jordan Montez took a walk, pinch-runner AJ Ljepava was thrown out trying to steal second on a ball in the dirt with the tying run at the plate as the Vikings fell in the ninth.

Just four games remain for the Vikings before conference play as they aim to get back on track and in the win column. They make the short drive up the 85 to take on De Anza on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled at 1:00 PM.