Baseball Game Preview: Mesa Ridge Grizzlies vs. Harrison Panthers

For the second straight game, Mesa Ridge will face off against Harrison. The Grizzlies will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Panthers at 4:00 p.m. Mesa Ridge is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season.

Mesa Ridge will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Thursday, then bounced right back against Harrison on Tuesday. The Grizzlies put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 12-1 victory. Considering the Grizzlies have won five games by more than seven runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

Gabriel Montijo made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Mesa Ridge is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-10 otherwise. Montijo was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with three runs, one triple, and two RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March.

Zander Iwanski

Runs

04/22/25 @ Harrison	2
04/10/25 vs Palmer	2
03/18/25 vs Colorado Springs Christian	2
04/15/25 @ Canon City	1
04/08/25 @ Palmer	1
+ 2 more games

In other batting news, Ozcar Walker and Zander Iwanski did most of the damage at the plate: Walker went 1-for-3 with three RBI and one double, while Iwanski went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBI. Mesa Ridge is undefeated when Iwanski posts two or more runs, but 3-10 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Brandon Bittner, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs.

Mesa Ridge was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .467. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Harrison only posted a batting average of .300.

Harrison is on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-11. As for Mesa Ridge, their win bumped their record up to 6-10.

Harrison's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Mesa Ridge has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .455. It's a different story for Harrison, though, as they've only averaged .346. Will they be able to contain Mesa Ridge's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.