The Queen Creek Bulldogs will head out to face off against the Mountain Ridge Mountain Lions at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Queen Creek will be looking to extend their current nine-game winning streak.
Queen Creek barely beat Williams Field the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Bulldogs blew past the Black Hawks 16-1 on Monday. The result was nothing new for the Bulldogs, who have now won 13 games by six runs or more so far this season.
Alexis Mendez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up 17 Ks. Those 17 strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.
Kayla Porter
| 04/14/25 @ Williams Field | 5 |
| 03/04/25 @ Kofa | 4 |
| 03/17/25 vs Basha | 3 |
| 02/21/24 vs Willow Canyon | 3 |
| 04/11/25 vs Red Mountain | 2 |
On the hitting side, Emma Reynolds and Kayla Porter did most of the damage at the plate: Reynolds went 3-for-4 with four runs, one triple, and one double, while Porter went 3-for-4 with five RBI and two doubles. Those five RBI gave Porter a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Madison Peterson, who scored two runs while going 1-for-1.
They weren't the only one making solid contact: Queen Creek kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least ten hits in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Mountain Ridge sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over Liberty on Thursday. The Mountain Lions haven't had any issues with the Lions recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Mountain Ridge also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Gianna Torres gave up only one earned run on six hits and racked up 13 Ks. Torres has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Mountain Ridge saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ainsley Cottrell, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Queen Creek pushed their record up to 18-5 with the win, which was their 17th straight on the road dating back to last season. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs over those games. As for Mountain Ridge, their record is now 14-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Queen Creek hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.3 home runs per game. However, it's not like Mountain Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Queen Creek took their win against Mountain Ridge in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 8-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bulldogs since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
