The Tanque Verde Hawks will head out on the road to take on the Tombstone Yellow Jackets at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Tanque Verde will be strutting in after a win while Tombstone will be coming in after a defeat.
Tanque Verde barely beat Sahuaro the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Tanque Verde was the clear victor by a 13-1 margin over Sahuaro on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Hawks, who have now won eight matchups by seven runs or more so far this season.
Ryan Ruskay spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on five hits. That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed since back in April of 2024.
On the hitting side, Tanque Verde saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Rocco Haggard, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another was Dylan Lewis, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Tanque Verde always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .541. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Tombstone's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They fell just short of Bisbee by a score of 4-3.
Kelly Bliss made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and one triple.
Tanque Verde has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-4-1 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.6 runs over those games. Tombstone's loss was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 11-4-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Tanque Verde has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Tombstone struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Tanque Verde's way against Tombstone when the teams last played back in March of 2024, as Tanque Verde made off with a 13-3 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Tanque Verde since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
