A feisty cat fight will be fought as South Mountain Jaguars duke it out with Gilbert Tigers at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with 12 consecutive losses dating back to last season for South Mountain and five for Gilbert.
South Mountain is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They lost 26-10 to Glendale on Thursday.
Kirk Bower
| 03/06/25 vs Glendale | 2 |
| 03/03/25 vs Cortez | 1 |
| 04/18/24 @ Washington | 1 |
| 04/08/24 vs Metro Tech | 1 |
Kirk Bower was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in doubles (two). Roman Barreras was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.
Even though they lost, South Mountain always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .645. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Gilbert and Mesquite meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Thursday. Gilbert came up short against Mesquite, falling 13-6.
Brady Carlin was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Carlin was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Ryan Eggerling made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Wilfredo Aviles IV, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
South Mountain's defeat dropped their record down to 0-6. As for Gilbert, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.
Gilbert's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: South Mountain has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .435. It's a different story for Gilbert, though, as they've only averaged .362. Will they be able to contain South Mountain's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
