The Pima Roughriders will face off against the St. Johns Redskins at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
St. Johns will be up against a hot Pima team: the squad just extended their winning streak to six. Everything went the Roughriders' way against San Carlos on Wednesday as they made off with a 25-5 win. The result was nothing new for the Roughriders, who have now won seven games by six runs or more so far this season.
Ramon Vasquez looked comfortable as he tossed 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Adrian Castro
| 04/15/26 @ San Carlos | 4 |
| 04/15/26 @ San Carlos | 3 |
| 04/08/26 @ Gilbert Classical Academy | 2 |
| 03/11/26 vs Morenci | 2 |
| 03/03/26 @ St. Johns | 2 |
| + 3 more games |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Adrian Castro, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of Pima's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 6-10 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Francisco Yanez, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Pima kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 4.9 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matchups they've averaged 11.
Meanwhile, while St. Johns put up plenty of runs on Wednesday, the same can't be said for Valley. The Redskins put the hurt on the Pirates with a sharp 18-0 victory. With that win, the Redskins brought their scoring average up to 6.1 runs per game.
Kaden Waite was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, St. Johns got a massive performance out of Gabe Castillo, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with four stolen bases, two doubles, and two RBI. Those two doubles gave Castillo a new career-high. Oscar Jaramillo was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI.
St. Johns' victory bumped their record up to 5-12. As for Pima, they now have a winning record of 11-10.
Friday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Pima has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .472. However, it's not like St. Johns struggles in that department as they've averaged .442. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Pima's way against St. Johns in their previous matchup back in March, as Pima made off with a 15-1 win. Do the Roughriders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Redskins turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
