Liberty is 8-2 against Sunnyslope since April of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Liberty Lions will be playing in front of their home fans against the Sunnyslope Vikings at 3:45 p.m. Liberty will be coming into the match with an undefeated record on the line.
On Tuesday, Liberty made easy work of Cesar Chavez and carried off an 11-5 win. The Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by six runs or more this season.
Jaeden Parks and Garrett Theile dominated on the mound. Parks pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit, while Theile struck out six batters over five innings while giving up four earned runs off eight hits (and not a single walk). What's more, Theile gave up only zero walks, the fewest he's had since back in April of 2024.
Cody Croxford
| 03/11/25 vs Cesar Chavez | 1 |
| 03/06/25 vs Perry | 1 |
| 03/03/25 vs Tucson High Magnet School | 1 |
At the plate, Cody Croxford was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run and six RBI. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one home run the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Hunter Kuczkowski, who went 2-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one double.
Liberty was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .458. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .320 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, everything went Sunnyslope's way against Willow Canyon on Monday as Sunnyslope made off with an 8-1 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Vikings.
Bryan Mares spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up six Ks. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Sunnyslope is 2-1 when he allows at most two walks, but 1-4 otherwise.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jake Woods, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-2. Another player making a difference was Matthew Workman, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
Sunnyslope's win bumped their record up to 3-5. As for Liberty, they pushed their record up to 8-0 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home.
Sunnyslope's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Liberty has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .504. It's a different story for Sunnyslope, though, as they've only averaged .352. Will they be able to contain Liberty's hitters?
Liberty came out on top in a nail-biter against Sunnyslope in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, sneaking past 6-4. Will Liberty repeat their success, or does Sunnyslope have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
