For the first time this season, Salpointe Catholic will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup on Monday. They will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against the Mica Mountain Thunderbolts at 6:00 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Monday.
Salpointe Catholic barely beat Sunnyside the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Salpointe Catholic put the hurt on Sunnyside with a sharp 7-1 win on Monday. Considering the Lancers have won four matchups by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Adan Koch Rodriguez, who scored three runs and stole Two bases. while going 3-for-4. What's more, he posted three RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. Johnny Abramian was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last game, Mica Mountain made sure to put some runs up on the board against Thatcher on Friday. Everything went Mica Mountain's way against Thatcher as Mica Mountain made off with a 13-6 victory. The win continues a trend for the Thunderbolts in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won three in a row.
Cole Lohrenz looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. He has become a key player for Mica Mountain: the team is undefeated when he allows at most two earned runs, but 1-6-1 otherwise.
At the plate, Mica Mountain let Elijah Higuera and Ethan Hunt run wild. Higuera scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-1, while Hunt scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-2. Hunt is becoming a predictor of Mica Mountain's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 2-1 (and 2-5-1 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Hunter Benson, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Salpointe Catholic pushed their record up to 7-0-1 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 7.7 runs. As for Mica Mountain, their win bumped their record up to 4-6-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Salpointe Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mica Mountain struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.