The Rio Rico Hawks will challenge the Sunnyside Blue Devils at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Rio Rico is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.
Cholla hit Rio Rico with a four-run fifth inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Hawks took an 8-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Chargers.
Rio Rico saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Rafael Echeverria, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Sunnyside entered their tilt with Rincon/University on Thursday with four consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with five. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Rangers a 16-0 shutout. The Blue Devils might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matchups by seven runs or more this season.
EMRICK THOMPSON made a splash no matter where he played. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three). He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-5 with one triple and one run.
In other batting news, JORDAN MAYBOCA and JORGE RUIZ did most of the damage at the plate: MAYBOCA got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, five RBI, and two runs, while RUIZ went a perfect 5-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. That's the most RBI MAYBOCA has posted since back in April of 2024. MICHEL MUNIZ was another key player, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base.
Sunnyside 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 five consecutive games.
Sunnyside's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-8. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Rio Rico, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-12.
Rio Rico suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Sunnyside in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will the Hawks have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
