The Mesa Jackrabbits will head out on the road to square off against the Tolleson Wolverines at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Mesa has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Tolleson will arrive with nine straight victories.
Thursday just wasn't the day for Mesa's offense. They lost 21-0 to Red Mountain on Thursday. Having soared to a lofty 16 runs in the game before, the Jackrabbits' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
Meanwhile, Tolleson has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging 3.79 runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 19-12 margin over West Point. Considering the Wolverines have won 19 games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Mayrin Acuna tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 6.1 innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Emily Araiza was a standout: she went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March. Adamariz Padilla was another key player, going 2-for-4 with four runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
Tolleson was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .477. They are a perfect 20-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Tolleson pushed their record up to 24-5 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.7 runs over those games. As for Mesa, their loss dropped their record down to 4-13.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Mesa hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Tolleson struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Mesa might still be hurting after the 19-3 defeat they got from Tolleson in their previous meeting back in April of 2018. Can the Jackrabbits avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
