The St. Mary's Knights will take on the Thunderbird Titans at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
St. Mary's fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Saguaro on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 5-2 to the Sabercats.
St. Mary's saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Javier Romero, who went 2-for-3 with one run.
Meanwhile, Thunderbird had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Matadors with a sharp 16-6 win. Considering the Titans have won ten matches by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Matt Hornburg was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.
In other batting news, Hunter Donathan and Austin Coates did most of the damage at the plate: Donathan went 1-for-3 with four stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI, while Coates got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most runs Donathan has posted since back in February. Caleb Kerr was another key player, earning two RBI, one run, and one stolen base.
Thunderbird's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-9. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games. As for St. Mary's, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 14-10 record this season.
St. Mary's was able to grind out a solid victory over Thunderbird in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, winning 4-0. Do the Knights have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Titans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
