Riverdale Ridge is preparing for their first league matchup of the season on Thursday. They will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against the Mountain Range Mustangs at 5:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Riverdale Ridge will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run last Tuesday, then bounced right back against Montbello on Thursday. The Ravens were the clear victors by a 20-1 margin over the Warriors.
Chase Eriksen made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Eriksen was even better at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
In other batting news, Jeter McArthur was a standout: he fired off three home runs, four runs, and four RBI while going 3-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March of 2025. Emilio Rivera III was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs, three RBI, and one triple.
Riverdale Ridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Montbello only posted an OBP of .368.
Meanwhile, Mountain Range never let their opponents score on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Overland with a sharp 15-0 win. Considering the Mustangs have won three contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Riverdale Ridge, Mountain Range also got a great game from a two-way player: Sol Gutierrez. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched. Gutierrez was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. He is becoming a predictor of Mountain Range's success: when he posts at least three hits the team is 2-1 (and 1-3 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Shane Frahm and Noah Espinoza did most of the damage at the plate: Frahm went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs and one triple, while Espinoza got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. Mountain Range is 3-1 when Espinoza posts two or more runs, but 0-3 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Cameron Williams, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
The victory got Riverdale Ridge back to even at 1-1. As for Mountain Range, their win ended a nine-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 3-4.
Everything went Riverdale Ridge's way against Mountain Range in their previous meeting back in April of 2025, as Riverdale Ridge made off with a 16-1 victory. Will the Ravens repeat their success, or do the Mustangs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
