On the hottest day so far in 2025, West Valley and Hartnell batters were chilled by shutdown pitchings and, in the end, timely Viking defense. The result was a 2-1 pitchers' duel victory for West Valley in a battle for the top spot in the Coast Conference standings. The Vikings (29-1, 6-0 Coast) ended Hartnell's six game win streak and kept WVC a game up on College of San Mateo (25-2, 5-1) and two up on San Jose City (23-3, 4-2) and the Panthers (15-10-1, 4-2) in the league standings.
West Valley grabbed a 2-0 lead in the 2nd in relatively atypical fashion. Rylee Gomez led off with a single, Alexis Bojorquez-Nava reached on an E5 and Raylene Cruz walked to load the bases. Makayla Villapando earned a walk that brought home Gomez, and then Alina Perez knocked in Bojorquez-Nava with a sharp grounder to short. The Perez RBI-fielder's choice would end up being the game-winner, but the Viking defense would need to get to work four innings later to make it so.
In between, West Valley's Ashlie Nakano and Hartnell's Charlee Hoover were in control in the circle, holding both teams to a combined five hits. Nakano spun three straight three-up-three-down frames (2nd, 3rd, 4th); it would have been four if not for a 5th-inning E5. Hoover, the reigning 3C2A State Pitcher of the Week, stymied Viking batters with a pair of two-strikeout innings (2nd, 3rd) and six K's total. WVC, however, took advantage of her four free passes and one wild pitch. It would be 6th inning walks issued to the Panthers that would be problematic for the Vikings.
Three consecutive two-out walks loaded the bases for Hartnell, and a Mikayla Sanchez single brought the Panthers to within 2-1 with the bases still full. Ella Moser then gloved a sharp Vianna Franco grounder to first and fired it to Villapando at home, forcing Hoover and ending the Panther threat.
The Viking defense rose to the occassion again in the top of the 7th. Hartnell's Autiana Telles led off with a single and moved to second on Jazmine Gonzalez's 1-4 groundout. Viking shortstop Andrea DeJesus would be the defensive difference from then on. DeJesus gloved a line drive laser off the bat of Hannah Sanchez for the 2nd out, but Alexandra Lopez was plunked and there were now Panthers on 1st and 2nd. DeJesus ended the game by forcing Lopez at second after a perfectly-fielded Kalea De Leon grounder to Perez at second.
Gomez finished 2-for-3, while Cruz and Brianna Chambers Lee recorded the other two Viking hits. Ashlie Nakano struck out three and surrended only two hits to improve to 9-0 in the circle.
The Vikings travel to San Jose City Thursday (3/27) for a crucial Coast contest against the Jaguars. First pitch is 3:00pm.