The Tombstone Yellow Jackets will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against the St. Augustine Catholic Wolves at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Tombstone's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Willcox as Tombstone made off with a 12-0 win. The contest marked the Yellow Jackets' most dominant victory of the season so far.
Brendan Caballero and DJ Elias made a big impact while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Caballero pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Elias tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave Caballero a new career-low in walks (one). At bat, Caballero went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI, while Elias got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. That home run was Elias' first of the season.
In other batting news, Trey Franklin and Sasha Webster did most of the damage at the plate: Franklin scored three runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4, while Webster scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-3. That's the most runs Franklin has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Erik Koehler, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Tombstone always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .515. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Willcox only posted an OBP of .105.
Meanwhile, St. Augustine Catholic had to endure a nine-game losing streak dating back to last season, but that streak is no more. They were the clear victor by a 21-0 margin over Santa Rita on Monday. The Wolves' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Owen Ernle and Sergio Cordova made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, Ernle tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Cordova pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. At the plate, Ernle went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run and seven RBI, while Cordova went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Diego Perez, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Gus Alcantar, who scored two runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
St. Augustine Catholic's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-3. As for Tombstone, their victory bumped their record up to 3-1-1.
Tombstone's speedy runners might be the difference in Thursday's game. Tombstone has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for St. Augustine Catholic, though, as they've been averaging only 1.2 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Tombstone continue to outrun the ball?
Tombstone was able to grind out a solid win over St. Augustine Catholic in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, winning 9-6. Will Tombstone repeat their success, or does St. Augustine Catholic have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
