The Winters Blizzards will challenge the De Leon Bearcats at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Having struggled with seven defeats in a row, Winters turned things around against Cisco on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Loboes, sneaking past 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Blizzards have posted since March 26, 2024.
Diego Rodriguez
| 04/11/25 vs Cisco | 11 |
| 03/10/25 @ Miles | 10 |
| 03/07/25 @ Menard | 9 |
| 02/22/25 vs Dublin | 6 |
| 04/04/25 vs Bangs | 5 |
| + 1 more games |
Diego Rodriguez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned runs on five hits and racked up 11 Ks. He has become a key player for Winters: the team is undefeated when he posts at least eight strikeouts, but 5-7-1 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Winters' win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Will Dunham, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, De Leon hadn't done well against Coleman recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Bearcats narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Bluecats 4-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Bearcats have posted against the Bluecats since March 23, 2021.
De Leon also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Brenner Wright gave up only one earned (and one unearned) run on eight hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Trenton Zmeskal, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season. Andrew Coan was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
The victory made it two in a row for De Leon and bumps their season record up to 12-7-1. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 5 runs in those games. As for Winters, they now have a winning record of 8-7-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Winters has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like De Leon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Winters suffered a grim 13-3 defeat to De Leon in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Blizzards avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
