Baseball Game Preview: Cibola Raiders vs. ALA - Queen Creek Patriots

The Cibola Raiders will take on the ALA - Queen Creek Patriots in a tournament on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Cibola gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Friday. They blew past Poston Butte 8-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Raiders have posted since March 15, 2024.

The team relied heavily on Jaxun McNeece, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double. Another player making a difference was Alfredo Lugo, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, ALA - Queen Creek put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. Everything went their way against Prescott as ALA - Queen Creek made off with a 9-1 victory.

Juan Pablo Altamirano made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out ten batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Altamirano was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 3-for-3.

In other batting news, Xander Mcrae and Haizen Reidhead did most of the damage at the plate: Mcrae went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and three RBI, while Reidhead scored two runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Tayden Brewer was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.