YAKIMA - Davis is dialing it in at the perfect time.

With  Tuesday’s 2-0 win over crosstown rival Eisenhower, the Pirates have won  five in a row and sit all alone at the top of the CBBN at 7-1 (9-2-1  overall). They’ve beaten defending league champion Wenatchee twice and  also took down Eastmont, at the time the No. 5 team in the latest Class 4A RPI  rankings, on the road last month.

Sure,  there’s still work to be done, including a rematch with the Wildcats on  Tuesday at Zaepfel Stadium (Davis’ home field for the remainder of the  season). But with eight shutouts to their credit, the No. 5 RPI Pirates  feel like they are primed for a deep postseason run.

“We  knew we had a good team, but we didn’t know things would work out as  well as they have,” said fourth-year head coach Cristian Gonzalez, who  led Davis to a third-place state finish in 2023. “After graduating so  many guys last year, it’s nice to see the pieces fitting into place.”

As  Gonzalez is quick to point out, the Pirates’ success starts with their  defense, led by center backs Aiden Munoz and Osmar Perez and outside  defenders Omar Alvarez and Yosgardt Badillo.

They’ve  also leaned heavily on the goalkeeping tandem of David Marin and Gabe  Paulani, who have settled into a shared role, with Marin manning the box  in the first half and Paulani finishing out the game.

But  with seven goals in the past two games, the offense is also showing  signs of rounding into form. Junior transfer Lino Stevenson has begun to  find his rhythm after sitting out the first six games due to  eligibility reasons, scoring three goals and delivering two assists  since his debut in late March.

“Bringing  in Lino has been huge,” Gonzalez said of the first-team all-league  midfielder. “Once he finally got out there with us, we started to feel  it. He’s such a good teammate and the guys love him.”

Junior  forward Jaime Alcocer is the team’s leading scorer with four tallies  and is among the team leaders in assists. Senior captains Diego Aguirre  and Jose Cuevas have been steady in the midfield, while junior mid  Carlos Benitez has also been getting into the act of late, scoring two  goals in the past two games.

“For  us, it’s not just a few guys, it’s the whole team,” Gonzalez said.  “Everyone understands their role and they all want the team to succeed.  We’ve built a really good culture here, and I think that’s going to help  us come playoff time.”

Munoz,  the Pirates’ senior defensive leader, believes the Pirates’ camaraderie  is going to be the difference-maker down the stretch.

“We're  all friends outside of school and we communicate really well with each  other,” he said. “We play with a lot of confidence and we believe in  each other. I think that’s our biggest strength.”

CBBN — EASTMONT and WENATCHEE join  Davis as the favorites to win the district tournament. The Wildcats and  Panthers represented the league at state last year, with Wenatchee  coming home with a third-place trophy. Eastmont is led by 2025 league  MVP Aaron Leon, a Division I college prospect who scored a hat trick in  Tuesday’s 7-2 win over SUNNYSIDE. Angel Ortega added  a goal and four assists in the Wildcats’ dominant win, helping them  improve to 6-2 in conference play (8-2-1 overall). WENATCHEE,  the No. 12 team in the latest 4A RPI rankings, is led by Anthony Garcia  and Chani Vega, and currently sits at 5-2 in league play (7-3 overall).  … EISENHOWER also expects to be in the  hunt over the final two weeks despite dropping three games in a row.  The Cadets (4-4 league, 5-5-2 overall) are led by senior forward Sergio  Mora, midfielder Rigo Mendoza and defender Andres Arroyo.

CWAC — EAST VALLEY stands alone in first place after Tuesday’s 1-0 road win over GRANDVIEW — the Red Devils’ 10th shutout of the season. Led by defenders Eli Montez and Isaias  Gutierrez and junior goalkeeper Angel Lopez, East Valley (8-1 CWAC,  11-1 overall) has surrendered only two goals all season as they prepare  to take on second-place QUINCY on Thursday night at home. … TOPPENISH (4-2 league, 8-5-1 overall) appeared to be finding its rhythm with seven wins in its past eight matches, but a 5-2 loss to EPHRATA this  week showed the Wildcats they still have work to do. Junior Luis Ramos  (11 goals) is the Valley’s scoring leader and senior Kristian Iniguez  has tallied nine goals, but the defense has been suspect at times. … ELLENSBURG has won four of its past five games, including a 2-1 shootout win over OTHELLO on  Tuesday, to improve to 4-2 in conference play. Junior forward Alejandro  Jasso sits second in the Valley with 10 goals and junior Angel Aparicio  has scored six.

SCAC — WAPATO has put itself in a good position to win the regular season league title with a 4-2 win over defending league champion WAHLUKE on April 14, but the Wolves (9-0 SCAC, 10-3 overall) still have to face second-place CASHMERE and third-place ROYAL over  the final two weeks. Wapato is led by Eric Romero (eight goals),  Anthony Urbina (six) and Oscar Martinez (six) as it seeks to return to  the 1A state tournament in back-to-back years. … CASHMERE improved to 8-1 in the SCAC (11-1 overall) with an 8-0 win over KIONA-BENTON on  Tuesday, spurred by a hat trick from Tommy Batanoiu. Ivan Gonzalez,  Ethan Thiess, Gio Mata and Edgar Reyna have also helped key the  Bulldogs’ attack over the first 12 games.