The Catalina Foothills Falcons will head out to face off against the Buena Colts at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Catalina Foothills will be coming into the game with an undefeated record on the line.
Catalina Foothills is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Hamilton, who was ranked fourth at the time (Catalina Foothills was ranked second). Catalina Foothills blew past Hamilton 8-2 on Wednesday. Fans of the Falcons have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 6+ runs.
Cooper Kruk
| 03/12/25 vs Hamilton | 3 |
| 02/27/25 vs El Paso | 2 |
| 03/08/24 vs Tucson High Magnet School | 2 |
| 02/27/25 vs Canutillo | 1 |
| 02/26/25 vs Flowing Wells | 1 |
The team relied heavily on Cooper Kruk, who went 3-for-4 with three doubles and three RBI. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in doubles. Nate Shoemaker was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Kruk wasn't the only one working in the hit department: Catalina Foothills kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in six consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Buena, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They put the hurt on Estrella Foothills with a sharp 10-2 victory on Thursday. The Colts not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since February 26th.
Skylar Leon was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. That hit marked the first that he got this season.
Buena is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. Catalina Foothills' record is now 5-0.
Monday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Catalina Foothills has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .519. However, it's not like Buena struggles in that department as they've averaged .441. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Catalina Foothills was able to grind out a solid win over Buena in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 8-3. Does Catalina Foothills have another victory up their sleeve, or will Buena turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
