The Nogales Apaches will head out to face off against the Centennial Coyotes at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Nogales sitting on four straight wins and Centennial on three.
On Saturday, Nogales needed a bit of extra time to put away Desert View. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Jaguars 2-1. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
| 05/03/25 vs Desert View | 9 |
| 04/09/25 vs Desert View | 8 |
| 03/12/25 vs St. Mary's | 8 |
| 03/04/25 vs Rio Rico | 7 |
| 04/15/25 @ Cienega | 6 |
Denzel Montijo made a big impact no matter where he played. He struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Centennial rose to the challenge on Saturday. Everything went their way against the Wildcats as they made off with an 18-1 win. The Coyotes might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 14 matchups by seven runs or more this season.
Like Nogales, Centennial also got a great game from a two-way player: JT Price. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). Price has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in eight consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run and two runs.
In other batting news, Centennial got a massive performance out of Xavier Escontrias, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, six RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Bobby Villa III, who went 3-for-4 with two triples, two stolen bases, and three runs.
Centennial was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .560. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .348 or higher in three consecutive contests.
Centennial's victory was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 19-8. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Nogales, their record is now 18-8-1.
Nogales came up short against Centennial in their previous matchup back in February of 2015, falling 4-1. Can the Apaches avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
