Baseball Game Preview: Ralston Valley Mustangs vs. ThunderRidge Grizzlies

The Ralston Valley Mustangs are taking a road trip to challenge the ThunderRidge Grizzlies at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. ThunderRidge took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Ralston Valley, who comes in off a win.

Ralston Valley's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They came out on top against Fairview by a score of 3-0. The victory continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Knights: they've now won three in a row.

Porter Peonio

Hits Against

03/20/25 vs Bishop Manogue	6
03/26/25 @ Erie	4
03/12/25 vs Boulder	3
04/01/25 vs Castle View	1

Porter Peonio looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He is becoming a predictor of Ralston Valley's success: when he allows at most three hits the team is 2-1 (and 1-4 when he doesn't).

On the hitting side, Degan Gregory was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That home run was his first of the season.

Meanwhile, ThunderRidge didn't have quite enough to beat Arapahoe on Monday and fell 6-4.

Eli Jackson was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed six innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off seven hits.

At the plate, Shane Christy made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while going 2-for-3.

ThunderRidge now has a losing record of 4-5. As for Ralston Valley, their win bumped their record up to 3-5.

ThunderRidge's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday. Ralston Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.4 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for ThunderRidge, though, as they've been averaging only 3.8 strikeouts. Will Ralston Valley keep running through batters, or will the Grizzlies buck the trend?

Everything went Ralston Valley's way against ThunderRidge when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Ralston Valley made off with a 9-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mustangs since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.