Baseball Game Preview: Mountain View Toros vs. Mesa Jackrabbits

The Mountain View Toros will venture away from home to challenge the Mesa Jackrabbits at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Mountain View is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season.

Mountain View took a seven-run defeat the last time they faced off against Red Mountain, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Toros had just enough and edged out the Mountain Lions 3-2.

Justice Yanke

Earned Runs

03/01/25 vs St. Mary's	3
04/09/25 vs Perry	2
03/08/25 vs Williams Field	2
04/17/25 vs Red Mountain	1
04/04/25 vs Highland	1

Justice Yanke spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on six hits. He is becoming a predictor of Mountain View's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is undefeated (and 8-10 when he doesn't).

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kooper Klein, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.

Meanwhile, Mesa didn't have quite enough to beat Skyline on Thursday and fell 4-3. The Jackrabbits have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Mesa saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lane Goodman, who went 2-for-3 with one triple and one RBI.

Mountain View is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-10 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Mesa, their loss dropped their record down to 4-18.

Mountain View's speedy runners might be the difference in Tuesday's contest. The Toros have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Mesa, though, as they've been averaging only 1 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Mountain View continue to outrun the ball?

Mountain View came up short against Mesa when the teams last played back in March of 2024, falling 6-1. Can the Toros avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.