Baseball starts conference play

Valley's mens baseball team gains a winning streak into the Western State Conference.

By Alex Diaz, Sports Editor

Vic Pico bats against Irvine where the Monarchs swept the two-game series. Pico is one of the batting leaders, averaging .394 on the season. Photo by Taylor Cowhey | Valley Star

The Valley College baseball team is riding a three-game winning streak and looks to have momentum approaching their first Western State Conference game against Glendale College. The Monarchs will travel to Stengal Field with first pitch at 2 p.m. 

“The pre-season has fully prepared them to give their best in their opening game against Glendale.” said Coach Dave Mallas after a recent practice.

The Monarchs faced  Irvine Valley College in a two-game series and won Tuesday’s contest 5-1, and then went 11 innings to defeat the Lasers 4-3. With one out in the bottom of the 11th, Collin Taylor singled to center field driving in Lucas Gabay for the game’s winning run.

On Friday, Valley defeated Orange Coast College 15-13 at Valley’s baseball field.  

The Monarchs are averaging eight runs a game and carry a .290 batting average. Oskar Stark leads the team with a batting .500 average and Vic Pico is averaging .394. 

“With Conference coming, we have great team chemistry,” said Vic Pico, who is a utility player for Monarchs. “It's gonna be a great year.”