Baseball Game Preview: Mesa Jackrabbits vs. Gilbert Tigers

The Mesa Jackrabbits will venture away from home to challenge the Gilbert Tigers at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Mesa has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Gilbert will arrive with five straight victories.

Things were looking good for Mesa after they put the first points on the board on Friday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They came up short against Westwood, falling 16-6. That's two games in a row now that the Jackrabbits have lost by exactly ten runs.

Hunter Brooks was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 2-for-2. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season. Gerardo Sanchez was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Gilbert challenged Desert Ridge on Thursday. Gilbert won by a run and slipped past Desert Ridge 4-3. That's two games straight that the Tigers have won by just one run.

Gilbert also got a great performance from Johhny King as he struck out eight batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off seven hits. King has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Will Bates was incredible, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3. He is becoming a predictor of Gilbert's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 3-9 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Hayden Leach, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

Mesa's defeat dropped their record down to 2-11. As for Gilbert, they picked up their first home win, bumping their record up to 6-9.

Mesa suffered a grim 16-0 defeat to Gilbert when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can Mesa avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.