The Chandler Wolves will face off against the Casteel Colts at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Chandler's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. Everything went their way against Marana as they made off with a 10-0 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Wolves considering their two-run performance the game before.
Dylan Lopez was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 2-for-2 with four RBI, one run, and one double. Chandler is undefeated when Lopez posts three or more RBI, but 5-8-1 otherwise.
In other pitching news, Zhaid Diaz looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has become a key player for Chandler: the team is 3-1-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 5-7 otherwise.
Jace Harrell
| 03/31/25 vs Marana | 2 |
| 03/22/25 vs Mullen | 2 |
| 03/19/25 @ Highland | 2 |
| 03/25/25 @ Casteel | 1 |
| 03/21/25 vs Resurrection Christian | 1 |
| + 4 more games |
Back at the plate, Jace Harrell and Thomas Bass did most of the damage at the plate: Harrell scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Bass scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Harrell is becoming a predictor of Chandler's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 2-1 (and 6-7-1 when he doesn't). Brian Romero was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Chandler always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .567. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
The home team had won the previous three meetings between Casteel and Basha, and Casteel kept the tradition alive. The Colts blew past the Bears 14-4 on Tuesday.
Baylor Denny made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed four innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. Denny was even better at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Ryne Barker was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ryan Harwood, who scored three runs while going 2-for-3.
Casteel has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs over those games. As for Chandler, the win got them back to even at 8-8-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Chandler hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Casteel struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
