The Maryvale Panthers will challenge the La Joya Community Fighting Lobos at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Maryvale is headed into the game having just posted their closest victory since April 3rd on Thursday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 11-10 win over South Mountain. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Jaguars recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Christian Valdez
| 02/28/25 vs Westwood | 8 |
| 03/17/25 vs Westwood | 6 |
| 03/25/25 @ Cesar Chavez | 5 |
| 04/08/25 vs Browne | 4 |
| 04/15/25 @ Boulder Creek | 3 |
| + 2 more games |
Christian Valdez and Ariel Garcia made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Valdez pitched 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and six unearned) runs off four hits. Meanwhile, Garcia tossed 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Maryvale is 2-1 when Valdez allows three or fewer earned runs, but 6-11 otherwise. At the plate, Valdez got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI, while Garcia went 1-for-3 with one run and one double. Valdez is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Sebastian Gonzalez, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. He has become a key player for Maryvale: the team is undefeated when he posts at least three RBI, but 5-12 otherwise. Nathan Benavidez was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Thursday La Joya Community sidestepped Washington for a 10-8 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Fighting Lobos.
Samuel Acuna was excellent, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base. What's more, he posted two hits, the most he's had since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Chris Mata, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.
La Joya Community pushed their record up to 17-6 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Maryvale, their victory bumped their record up to 8-12.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Maryvale has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like La Joya Community struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Maryvale took their win against La Joya Community in their previous matchup back in April of 2015 by a conclusive 15-7 score. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Fighting Lobos have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
