The Heritage Academy Heroes will head out on the road to take on the Mohave Accelerated Patriots at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Heritage Academy will be strutting in after a victory while Mohave Accelerated will be coming in after a defeat.
Heritage Academy took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. Everything went their way against ALA - Anthem South as they made off with a 12-0 win.
Isaias Ruiz and Paul (PJ) Soltero made a splash no matter where they played. Throwing, Ruiz pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Soltero pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances. At the plate, Ruiz went 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBI, while Soltero got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three runs, one triple, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that Soltero has hit this season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Felix Melero Martinez, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Malachi Maple, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Heritage Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. The last time their OBP was this high was was before the start of last season.
Meanwhile, Mohave Accelerated was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They lost 31-20 to North Valley Christian Academy. Even if the Patriots couldn't come away with the victory, the high-scoring effort was a great turnaround for their hitters, which had struggled int the games prior.
Cash Keller made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 4-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Mohave Accelerated's defeat dropped their record down to 5-12. As for Heritage Academy, their record now sits at 5-9-1.
Everything went Heritage Academy's way against Mohave Accelerated in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, as Heritage Academy made off with an 18-3 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Heroes since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
