The Kofa Kings will head out on the road to challenge the Yuma Criminals at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Kofa is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.3 runs per game this season.
Last Monday, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Kofa had to settle for a 4-3 defeat against Gila Ridge.
Kofa got a good showing from Ernesto Hernandez, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Hernandez has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Kofa saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Julio Reina, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Yuma had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7 runs), and they went ahead and made it eight on Monday. They put the hurt on the Titans with a sharp 14-4 victory. 14 seems to be a good number for Yuma as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Kevin Garcia was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits over four innings pitched. Garcia was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Alonzo Fierro was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Damian Cabrera, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Kofa's loss dropped their record down to 15-8. As for Yuma, they pushed their record up to 14-7-1 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Kofa has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Yuma struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Kofa came up short against Yuma when the teams last played back in April of 2023, falling 7-4. Can Kofa avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
