Three games against Castaic in three days ended the way the first two did, with Valencia freshman pitching in complete control: Elijah Avlas, in his first turn on the mound of the spring schedule, threw a complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts in a 3-0 Monday win.

Avlas needed just 71 pitches for seven innings, struck out the side in the third, and repeatedly cleaned up what little Castaic managed: he and Kai Larracas erased a leadoff double with a caught stealing at third in the first, and he picked a runner off second in the fourth. The game ended with the tying run at the plate on Kasen Caranto's force-and-relay double play.

The offense needed one inning. Ryan Kim was hit by a pitch, Caranto singled, Elijah Patlian moved both into scoring position, and Marcus Paikos lined a two-run single to center; Paikos stole second and came home on a catcher's error for the 3-0 lead.

Across the three-game set, Valencia outscored Castaic 17-1, allowing one run in twenty-one innings on eight hits. Castaic's #30 was a hard-luck loser, striking out nine in a 90-pitch complete game of his own.