The Needles Mustangs will square off against the GV Christian Guardians at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The timing is sure in Needles' favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while GV Christian has been banged up by six consecutive losses on the road.
Needles barely beat Holtville the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Mustangs' pitcher stepped up to hand the Vikings an 11-0 shutout on Tuesday. The Mustangs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 contests by ten runs or more this season.
Tyler Wilson
| 04/22/25 vs Holtville | 3 |
| 04/11/25 @ Lake Mead Christian Academy | 2 |
| 04/11/25 @ Lake Mead Christian Academy | 0 |
| 03/21/25 vs Awaken Christian | 1 |
| 03/06/25 @ Palo Verde Valley | 3 |
Tyler Wilson made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over four innings pitched. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI.
In other batting news, Robert Tapia was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. He has become a key player for Needles: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 5-8-1 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Holden Jones, who earned two runs and two stolen bases.
Needles always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .625. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Holtville only posted an OBP of .333.
Meanwhile, GV Christian might've scored the first runs last Tuesday, but it was Laughlin who claimed the real prize. The Guardians lost 22-6 to the Cougars.
GV Christian saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ethan Cootware, who went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one double. Cootware has been hot recently, having posted two or more stolen bases the last four times he's played.
Needles is on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 16 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-8-1 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games. As for GV Christian, their loss dropped their record down to 4-13.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Needles has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like GV Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Needles' way against GV Christian when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Needles made off with a 15-0 victory. Will the Mustangs repeat their success, or do the Guardians have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
