The Marana Tigers will challenge the Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Marana comes in on three and Ironwood Ridge on seven.
Marana is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Rio Rico 12-2 on Thursday. The Tigers not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since March 26, 2024.
Adriel Ramirez made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He is becoming a predictor of Marana's success: when he allows at most three hits the team is 2-1 (and 2-5 when he doesn't). Ramirez was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and one triple. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in RBI.
Jaden Villareal
| 03/20/25 vs Rio Rico | 3 |
| 03/13/25 vs Yuma | 2 |
| 02/24/24 vs Buena | 2 |
| 03/06/24 @ Sahuaro | 1 |
In other pitching news, Jaden Villareal tossed a big game, tossing 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three).
Back at the plate, Connor Ellis was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing Two bases. while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Wyatt Meza, who scored a run while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances.
While Ironwood Ridge didn't have the best season last year (they finished 10-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They put the hurt on Frederick with a sharp 16-1 victory on Wednesday. Considering the Nighthawks have won four matchups by more than 11 runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Marana's win bumped their record up to 4-6. As for Ironwood Ridge, their victory bumped their record up to 9-1.
Marana might still be hurting after the 12-0 loss they got from Ironwood Ridge when the teams last played on Tuesday. Can Marana avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
