vs
| 05/03/24 - Away | 11-9 W |
| 04/22/24 - Away | 5-6 L |
| 04/03/24 - Home | 9-11 L |
| 05/05/23 - Home | 10-9 W |
| 04/19/23 - Home | 11-9 W |
| + 5 more games |
Melba is 8-2 against New Plymouth since May of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Mustangs will host the Pilgrims at 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday just wasn't the day for Melba's offense. They fell 5-0 to Nampa Christian on Tuesday. The loss continues a trend for the Mustangs in their meetings with the Trojans: they've now lost six in a row.
Melba saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cooper Brooks, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base. That stolen base marked the first that Brooks snagged this season.
While New Plymouth didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-12-1), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. Everything went their way against Vision on Tuesday as they made off with a 15-4 victory. The Pilgrims haven't had any issues with Vision recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Bradin Padgett made a big impact no matter where he played. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Padgett was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with six RBI and one double.
In other pitching news, Marcus Garcia looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, he posted four strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March of 2024.
Back at the plate, Payton Zigga was incredible, scoring three runs while going 2-for-3. He has become a key player for New Plymouth: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 2-3 otherwise. Cooper Shaw was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.
New Plymouth always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .513. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Vision only posted an OBP of .308.
New Plymouth's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-3. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.3 runs over those games. As for Melba, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-4.
Melba skirted past New Plymouth 11-9 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Will the Mustangs repeat their success, or do the Pilgrims have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
