The Fruita Monument Wildcats will be taking part in a tournament against the Prairie View Thunderhawks at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
While Fruita Monument's win against Rampart wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. Fruita Monument sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-6 victory over Rampart on Friday. The Wildcats haven't had any issues with the Rams recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Blake Elsberry made a splash no matter where he played. He struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. Elsberry was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Gavin Cardoza was incredible, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Josh Weaver was another key player, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Prairie View won against Palisade on Thursday with seven runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Friday. Prairie View beat Grand Junction by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 7-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Thunderhawks.
Like Fruita Monument, Prairie View also got a great game from a two-way player: Preston Miller. On the mound, he struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Miller was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Noah Hernandez, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4.
Fruita Monument pushed their record up to 2-0 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Prairie View, their win bumped their record up to 2-0.
Fruita Monument might still be hurting after the 6-0 loss they got from Prairie View when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can Fruita Monument avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
