Coalinga and Mendota are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2019, but likely not for long. The Horned Toads will be playing in front of their home fans against the Aztecs at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Coalinga sitting on four straight victories and Mendota on six.
Coalinga's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Avenal with a sharp 19-0 win. Considering the Horned Toads have won eight contests by more than eight runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Drake 'Swish' Stevens
| 05/01/25 @ Avenal | 10 |
| 04/30/24 @ Tranquillity | 9 |
| 04/19/24 vs Mendota | 5 |
| 03/26/24 vs Sierra | 3 |
| 03/15/24 @ Woodlake | 3 |
Drake 'Swish' Stevens made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out ten over 4.2 innings pitched. Those ten strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two doubles, and two RBI.
In other batting news, Luis Gutierrez was incredible, going 4-for-5 with four stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March. Raymond 'Dozer' Flores Jr was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple.
Meanwhile, Mendota hadn't done well against Dos Palos recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Aztecs came out on top in a nail-biter against the Broncos, sneaking past 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Aztecs have posted since March 10th.
Coalinga pushed their record up to 14-7 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.8 runs over those games. As for Mendota, they now have a winning record of 11-10.
Coalinga beat Mendota 7-4 in their previous matchup back in April. Will the Horned Toads repeat their success, or do the Aztecs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
