The Mountain Crest Mustangs will venture away from home to face off against the Park City Miners at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Mountain Crest's pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so Park City's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Mountain Crest hadn't beaten Provo on the road since March 18, 2016 but that history sure didn't bother them on Friday. Mountain Crest walked away with a 5-2 win over Provo. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Mustangs.
Rylin Needham spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on five hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts any time he's pitched this season.
Jackson Pearce
| 03/21/25 @ Provo | 3 |
| 03/14/25 @ Dixie | 2 |
| 03/17/25 @ Green Canyon | 1 |
| 03/14/25 vs East | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jackson Pearce, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI and one stolen base. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Kayden Cullimore was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Park City faced Dixie in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. Park City came out on top against Dixie by a score of 6-1.
Colton Schmidt was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed seven innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. He is becoming a predictor of Park City's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is undefeated (and 2-3 when he doesn't). Schmidt was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one RBI.
In other batting news, Alex Brannigan was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-3. Joey Breza also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Park City is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. Mountain Crest's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Mountain Crest has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Park City struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
