The Estrella Foothills Wolves will face off against the ALA - Queen Creek Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Estrella Foothills 4, ALA - Queen Creek 3.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
ALA - Queen Creek will take on a team with plenty of momentum: Estrella Foothills extended their winning streak to five on Friday. The Wolves never let Paradise Honors get on the board and left with a 1-0 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Wolves have posted since April 27, 2024.
Estrella Foothills saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Alec Schaeffer, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI.
Crismon typically has all the answers at home, but on Wednesday ALA - Queen Creek proved too difficult a challenge. They walked away with a 10-5 victory over the Rattlers. ALA - Queen Creek's win was all the more impressive since the Rattlers were averaging only 3.48 runs allowed on the season.
Brasser Crumpton and Juan Pablo Altamirano did most of the damage at the plate: Crumpton fired off two home runs and three RBI while going 2-for-3, while Altamirano went 1-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Those two home runs gave Crumpton a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Seth Nielson, who went 2-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double.
ALA - Queen Creek lost a few balls and finished the game with four home runs. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Crismon only launched one home run.
Estrella Foothills pushed their record up to 14-10 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for ALA - Queen Creek, their victory bumped their record up to 21-3.
Monday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Estrella Foothills has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .469. However, it's not like ALA - Queen Creek struggles in that department as they've averaged .466. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Estrella Foothills was able to grind out a solid win over ALA - Queen Creek when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 9-6. Will the Wolves repeat their success, or do the Patriots have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
