The Arvada West Wildcats are taking a road trip to square off against the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Arvada West knows how to get runs on the board -- the team has finished with ten runs or more in their past three games -- so hopefully Mountain Vista likes a good challenge.
Arvada West is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 17-1 margin over Vista PEAK Prep on Wednesday. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matches by 12 runs or more this season.
Cooper Vais was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 11 over four innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
Tate Deal
| 03/26/25 @ Vista PEAK Prep | 2 |
| 03/12/25 vs Grandview | 1 |
| 05/07/24 vs Columbine | 1 |
| 04/22/24 @ Columbine | 1 |
| 03/30/24 @ Denver North | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Tate Deal, who fired off two home runs, six RBI, and three runs while going 4-for-4. Those two home runs gave him a new career-high. Levi Lueck also deserves some recognition as he launched his first home run of the season.
Arvada West was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .583. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Mountain Vista, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Thursday. They had just enough and edged out Chatfield 7-6 on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Golden Eagles in their matchups with the Chargers: they've now won seven in a row.
Chase Ruden tossed a big game, pitching 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. Mountain Vista is 2-1 when Ruden allowsone or fewer earned runs, but 1-2 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Alex King was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Anthony Mitchell, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one RBI.
Arvada West's record is now 5-1-1. As for Mountain Vista, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Arvada West has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mountain Vista struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Arvada West beat Mountain Vista 10-7 in their previous meeting back in April of 2022. The rematch might be a little tougher for Arvada West since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
