The Casteel Colts will square off against the Horizon Huskies at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Casteel is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.
Casteel was handed a heart-breaking two-run loss in their last contest, but they sure didn't let that happen against Mountain Ridge on Monday. Casteel put the hurt on Mountain Ridge with a sharp 16-2 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Colts considering their two-run performance the matchup before.
Connor Russell
| 03/17/25 @ Mountain Ridge | 2 |
| 03/14/25 vs Tucson High Magnet School | 2 |
| 03/03/25 @ Tolleson | 2 |
| 02/27/25 @ Corona del Sol | 2 |
| 03/10/25 @ Brophy College Prep | 1 |
| + 1 more games |
Connor Russell was incredible, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Casteel is undefeated when Russell posts two or more runs, but 2-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Ryne Barker, who scored two runs while going 2-for-5.
Casteel always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .523. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mountain Ridge only posted an OBP of .323.
Meanwhile, Horizon entered their tilt with Campo Verde on Monday with four consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with five. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 6-5 W against the Coyotes. While the Huskies didn't have the best season last year (they finished 13-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Jarrett Elco looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Ryan Tomey, who scored a run while going 3-for-3. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in hits. The team also got some help courtesy of Kanon Faseler, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Casteel has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. Horizon's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-3.
Casteel took their win against Horizon when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 15-4. Will Casteel repeat their success, or does Horizon have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
