The ALA - West Foothills Guardians will venture away from home to square off against the River Valley Dust Devils at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
ALA - West Foothills' pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Highland Prep 15-0. Considering the Guardians have won five contests by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Lucas Brittan
| 03/25/25 vs Highland Prep | 3 |
| 03/18/25 vs Kingman | 0 |
| 03/17/25 @ Chino Valley | 2 |
| 03/14/25 @ North Valley Christian Academy | 2 |
| 03/21/24 @ North Valley Christian Academy | 6 |
Lucas Brittan made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March of 2024. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one triple. That triple was his first of the season.
In other pitching news, Parker Schmidt looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, he gave up only zero walks, the fewest he's had since back in April of 2024.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Johnny Garcia, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. He has become a key player for ALA - West Foothills: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 1-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Jaxson Garvey, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
ALA - West Foothills always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Highland Prep only posted an OBP of .083.
Meanwhile, River Valley hadn't done well against Chino Valley recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. River Valley put the hurt on Chino Valley with a sharp 8-2 win. The result was nothing new for the Dust Devils, who have now won three matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Mickey Gonzalez was excellent, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two runs. Jeremiah Putt was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-1.
River Valley is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-2-2 record this season. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to strikeouts: they averaged an imposing 8.17 strikeouts in those games compared to only four in the others. ALA - West Foothills' record is now 7-3.
Friday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. ALA - West Foothills has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .462. However, it's not like River Valley struggles in that department as they've averaged .462. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
ALA - West Foothills couldn't quite finish off River Valley in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 and fell 3-1. Can ALA - West Foothills avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
