Behind strong pitching and timely offense, the West Valley College baseball team opened the 2024 season with a pair of victories over American River College as the Vikings celebrated the grand opening of its new baseball complex, Valhalla Park.
Runs were hard to come by at Friday afternoon's affair. Both teams displayed outstanding pitching as American River led 1-0 heading into the bottom of the 5th inning. With two on and two out, returning All-State player, Jayce Dobie, doubled home sophomores Karter Wong and Ryan Lordier to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead. That is all the run support needed for pitchers Dillon Haftorson and Colin Trizuto, who shut down the American River offense. Trizuto closed out the game with 6 scoreless innings to pick up the win.
Viking bats came alive on Saturday as the Vikings tallied 10 runs and 12 hits in a 10-2 West Valley victory. Logan Stelling's mammoth 421 ft. 2-run home run put the game out of reach. The Vikings were led by Jayce Dobie's 3 hits at the plate. Stelling, sophomore Alan Ramirez, and Ryan Lordier all added a pair of hits for West Valley.
The Vikings return home on Tuesday, January 30th for a non-conference match-up against Santa Rosa Junior College followed by a home game on Thursday, February 1st against Merced College. First pitch for both contests is 2:00 p.m.
For all the latest news on West Valley athletics, please visit athletics.westvalley.edu
