The Esperanza Aztecs are taking a road trip to take on the Sonora Raiders at 3:15 p.m. on Monday. Sonora took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Esperanza, who comes in off a win.
Esperanza took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They blew past South East 12-3. The Aztecs not only won on Saturday, but they posted their biggest win since March 29th (when they won 13-2).
The team relied heavily on Adam Tway, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Gavin Faur, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Esperanza always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Sonora might've scored the first runs on Saturday, but it was South Gate who claimed the real prize. The Raiders fell just short of the Rams by a score of 5-4. The Raiders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Luke Crowder was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Furthermore, he didn't allow a single earned run, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in April of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That triple was his first of the season.
In other batting news, Anthony Abad was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double.
Sonora's defeat dropped their record down to 15-11. As for Esperanza, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 10-16.
Esperanza suffered a grim 13-1 defeat to Sonora in their previous matchup back in April. Can the Aztecs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
