The Pima Roughriders are taking a road trip to face off against the St. Johns Redskins at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Pima took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They blew past San Carlos 11-3. The Roughriders haven't had any issues with the Braves recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Pima's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Adrian Castro, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and one stolen base. Another was Colter Kempton, who scored a run while going 1-for-1.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask St. Johns). Everything went their way against Valley on Wednesday as they made off with a 20-2 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Redskins.
Everett McFee was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-2. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March of 2024.
In other batting news, McKray Johnson was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3. He is becoming a predictor of St. Johns' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 5-10-1 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Mark Cox, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
St. Johns always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .778. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Pima's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-8-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for St. Johns, the win got them back to even at 10-10-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Pima has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like St. Johns struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Pima's way against St. Johns in their previous matchup back in March, as Pima made off with a 7-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Roughriders since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
