Desert Ridge is preparing for their first region matchup of the season on Tuesday. A feisty cat fight will be fought as Desert Ridge Jaguars face off against Gilbert Tigers at 6:00 p.m. They have a tough task ahead: they'll enter the contest with three straight losses, while Gilbert will come in with three straight wins.
Last Friday, Desert Ridge didn't have quite enough to beat Brophy College Prep and fell 3-2.
Desert Ridge saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Drew Lindblom, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Gilbert). They blew past Campo Verde 19-5 on Monday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Tigers with their most commanding win of the season.
Brady Carlin made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed three innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Carlin was even better at the plate, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in February.
In other batting news, Grant Goodman was a standout: he scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all six of his plate appearances. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Hayden Leach, who went 3-for-5 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles.
Gilbert kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 4.8 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 10.
Gilbert pushed their record up to 4-9 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Desert Ridge, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-9.
Desert Ridge came out on top in a nail-biter against Gilbert when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 3-1. Will Desert Ridge repeat their success, or does Gilbert has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
