The streak is over.
Behind senior Daivian Quintana’s pitching and an explosive first few innings, Pajaro Valley squashed a 131-game losing streak against league opponents with a 7-2 win over cross-city rival Watsonville in Monterey Bay League Pacific division action on Friday night.
It is Pajaro Valley’s (2-3, 1-2) first league win since May 6, 2010. That victory, a 7-6 win, also came against Watsonville.
“It’s awesome, it’s unbelievable for our program and for our kids,” said third-year head coach Matt Manfre. “But in the grand scheme of things, it’s one win. It’s a big one, but we were expecting it this season. We’re not just here to beat Watsonville once. We feel like we can compete.”
The Grizzlies have come close to snapping the streak during Manfre’s short tenure. They lost a pair of heartbreakers to Seaside last season, and also pushed North Salinas and eventual league champion Alisal to their limits.
They started off their MBL-P season this spring by being shutout in two games, but jumped on Watsonville (2-3, 2-2) early on Friday night at newly named Harlan Guy Field.
Quintana and the Pajaro Valley defense never eased their stranglehold.
“We’ve been competitive in every game, but we haven’t been able to finish it,” Manfre said. “Today, we got it done.”
Pajaro Valley has struggled to avoid losing streaks since becoming a varsity program in 2007. It lost 56 consecutive league games before knocking off Watsonville for its first league win in 2010, and also went through a trying four-year losing streak shortly after.
Even with few resources at their disposal and without a field in their foreseeable future, Manfre’s Grizzlies haven’t made any excuses over the last three seasons.
“No one sees it, but we’re out at Ramsay Park every day practicing, working hard,” Manfre said. “We start off every season on the road and we use Watsonville’s field for our home games…But the kids just keep working, and working, and working. I told them three years ago, when they were getting 10-run ruled every game, that this would pay off when they were seniors.”
Pajaro Valley plays at Alisal on April 9 at 4 p.m.
Watsonville will try to bounce back on Wednesday against visiting Aptos at 7 p.m.
