The San Luis Sidewinders will be taking part in a tournament against the Southwest EC Eagles at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (San Luis: 3, Southwest EC: 1.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
San Luis' pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They came out on top against Marana by a score of 3-0.
Erick Espinoza tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over 6.2 innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in February of 2024.
At the plate, San Luis saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Juan Pablo Chavez, who scored a run while going 2-for-2. That's the most hits Chavez has posted since back in March of 2024.
San Luis hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Marana struck out seven times.
Meanwhile, Southwest EC faced Needles in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. Southwest EC walked away with a 6-1 win over Needles. The Eagles' victory was nothing new given the team hasn't lost yet this season.
Cole Redden made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed since back in May of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jerry Niebla, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Isaiah Aguilera, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and one RBI.
San Luis now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Southwest EC, their win bumped their record up to 6-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. San Luis has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Southwest EC struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
San Luis skirted past Southwest EC 4-3 in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will San Luis repeat their success, or does Southwest EC have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
