The Perry Pumas will head out on the road to square off against the Saguaro Sabercats at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Perry is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10.9 runs per game this season.
Perry is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Queen Creek, who was ranked third at the time (Perry was ranked first). Perry was the clear victor by a 16-6 margin over Queen Creek on Thursday. While the Pumas didn't have the best season last year (they finished 10-18), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Dane Jochumsen looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. Those two hits allowed gave him a new career-low.
Andrew Hover
| 03/20/25 @ Queen Creek | 6 |
| 03/11/25 vs Gilbert | 1 |
| 03/06/25 @ Liberty | 1 |
| 03/03/25 @ Sunnyslope | 1 |
| 02/27/25 vs Arcadia | 1 |
At the plate, Andrew Hover was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with six RBI and two runs. Those six RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Rowen Noreus, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs.
Perry always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .537. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Queen Creek only posted an OBP of .393.
Meanwhile, Saguaro had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 9-7 win over the Wildcats. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Sabercats have posted against the Wildcats since March 22, 2022.
Carter Bond looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Saguaro's win was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Louis Busseri, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Chasen Niemann was another, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
Saguaro's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-5-1. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.7 runs over those games. As for Perry, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-2 record this season.
Saguaro's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Perry has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .504. It's a different story for Saguaro, though, as they've only averaged .347. Will they be able to contain Perry's hitters?
Perry came out on top in a nail-biter against Saguaro in their previous meeting back in February of 2022, sneaking past 3-1. Will Perry repeat their success, or does Saguaro has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
