Baseball Recap: Needles Wins Going Away Against White Pine

Mustangs

Margin (Wins)

04/22/26 @ GV Christian	17
04/22/26 vs GV Christian	15
03/05/26 vs North Valley Christian Academy	15
05/08/26 @ White Pine	13
05/07/26 @ Lake Mead Christian Academy	13

Needles extended their postseason success on Friday against White Pine. They blew past the Bobcats 16-3. The Mustangs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 games by six runs or more this season.

Brayden Baca made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched five innings while giving up three earned runs off six hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with five RBI and one triple. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Gabe Rodriguez was a standout: he went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Needles is undefeated when Rodriguez posts two or more runs, but 6-11 otherwise. Robert Tapia was another key player, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with four runs and one stolen base.

Needles always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .634. They are a perfect 8-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

The win made it two in a row for Needles and bumps their season record up to 14-11. It's not like the team was facing easy opposition over that stretch either, as it included 15-5 Lake Mead Christian Academy (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 68.5% over those games). As for White Pine, they moved to 13-8 with that defeat, which also ended their three-game winning streak.

Needles does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for White Pine, they will square off against Lake Mead Christian Academy at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. The Bobcats' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Eagles have averaged an impressive 11.4 runs per game this season.