The Wickenburg Wranglers will face off against the Northland Prep Academy Spartans at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Wickenburg's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They put the hurt on Highland Prep West with a sharp 17-0 win. Considering the Wranglers have won three games by more than 11 runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Jaxson Hone and Hazen Jones made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Hone pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Jones tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Wickenburg is 3-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 0-3 otherwise. At bat, Hone got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and two RBI, while Jones scored two runs and stole Three bases. while going 1-for-4. Those three stolen bases gave Jones a new career-high.
In other batting news, Caleb Hadley and Jaxon Newman did most of the damage at the plate: Hadley scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4, while Newman scored three runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. The dominant performance gave Newman a new career-high in runs. Another player making a difference was Zane Echols, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one RBI.
Wickenburg always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .727. They are 2-1 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Northland Prep Academy had to travel to play their first game of the season, but the final result was worth the trip. They blew past Red Rock 22-4 two weeks ago.
Blayden Cosper and Tyler Cary made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Cosper struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Cary struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). What's more, Cosper gave up only two walks, the fewest he's had since back in March of 2024. At the plate, Cosper scored four runs and stole Five bases. while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances, while Cary got on base in three of his five plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, Northland Prep Academy let Michael Cary and Wyatt Massey run wild. Cary scored three runs and stole Three bases. while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances, while Massey scored four runs and stole Three bases. while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Carson Green was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Wickenburg has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 3-4 record this season. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 12.25 hits in those games compared to only 4.33 in the others. Northland Prep Academy's victory ended a three-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 1-0.
