Baseball Game Preview: Mica Mountain Thunderbolts vs. ALA - Queen Creek Patriots

The Mica Mountain Thunderbolts will square off against the ALA - Queen Creek Patriots at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday.

Mica Mountain fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Pusch Ridge Christian Academy on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Lions by a score of 4-3.

Mica Mountain saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Elijah Higuera, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI and one double. Raydon Rocha also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, ALA - Queen Creek put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with an 11-7 victory over Cibola.

Seth Nielson made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched four innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. What's more, he posted four strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing Two bases. while going 2-for-3.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Juan Pablo Altamirano, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and one triple. Brasser Crumpton was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.

Mica Mountain's loss dropped their record down to 1-3-1. As for ALA - Queen Creek, their record now sits at 4-0.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Mica Mountain has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like ALA - Queen Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Mica Mountain suffered a grim 13-3 defeat to ALA - Queen Creek in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can Mica Mountain avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.