Cortez is 1-9 against Dysart since March of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Cortez Colts will head out on the road to face off against the Dysart Demons at 5:00 p.m. Dysart took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Cortez, who comes in off a win.
While Cortez has not struggled against Tempe recently, they managed to flip the script on Tuesday. Cortez never let Tempe onto the board and left with a 10-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for Cortez.
Julian Bernal made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 14 over five innings pitched. Bernal has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Bernal was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Andrew Alvarez was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Andre Shepard, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought game, but Dysart had to settle for an 8-7 loss against Thunderbird on Thursday.
Dysart saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jacob Moreno, who scored a run while going 3-for-5. Easton Carleton was another key contributor, going 2-for-5 with a triple and an RBI.
Cortez's win ended a five-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-11. As for Dysart, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-5-1 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Cortez has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Dysart struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Cortez suffered a grim 17-1 defeat to Dysart in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Cortez, Tyler Giacoletti-Moody (who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
