The Yuma Criminals will head out on the road to challenge the Kofa Kings at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Yuma is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last eight games.
Yuma barely beat Desert Sunrise the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Criminals' pitcher stepped up to hand the Golden Hawks a 10-0 shutout on Thursday. The Criminals might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 14 games by seven runs or more this season.
Eli Lujan
| 04/24/25 vs Desert Sunrise | 2 |
| 04/15/25 vs Cortez | 0 |
| 03/24/25 vs Cibola | 1 |
The result came thanks to Eli Lujan's shutout, as he gave up just two hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Deven Aguirrebarrena was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April of 2024. Jaime Ruelas was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.
Yuma was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .467. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .414 or higher in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Kofa hadn't done well against Cibola recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Kings blew past the Raiders 9-3. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Ryan Rosas was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI. Fabian Burgos also deserves some recognition as he launched his first home run of the season.
Yuma pushed their record up to 20-5-1 with the win, which was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.9 runs over those games. As for Kofa, the win got them back to even at 10-10.
Yuma beat Kofa 4-0 in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Criminals since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
