Recap: Needles Mustangs vs. Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets
There's no place like home for Needles, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Thursday. They walked away with an 8-5 victory over the Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets on Tuesday. For Needles, this counts as revenge for the 11-1 defeat Palo Verde Valley walked away with the last time they faced one another back in March of 2023.
Logan Parker and Collin Smith were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Parker struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). Meanwhile, Smith struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off two hits. Parker has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Parker went 1-for-3 with a home run and two runs, while Smith scored a run while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, Holden Jones was excellent, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Gabe Rodriquez, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
On Palo Verde Valley's side, Christian Aguilar made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in three of his four plate appearances with a stolen base and two RBI.
Needles pushed their record up to 7-4 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs per game. As for Palo Verde Valley, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-5-1.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Needles will challenge Awaken Christian at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Needles' pitching crew has only allowed 2.8 runs per game this season, so Awaken Christian's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Palo Verde Valley, they will head out on the road to square off against Canyon Hills at 4:00 p.m. on Monday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
