The Red Mountain Mountain Lions will face off against the O'Connor Eagles at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Red Mountain's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Dobson with a sharp 27-0 win. Winning may never get old, but the Mountain Lions sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Jimmy McCarthy
| 03/25/26 @ Dobson | 5 |
| 02/27/26 @ Chaparral | 3 |
| 04/24/25 vs Westwood | 3 |
| 04/01/25 @ Mesa | 2 |
| 03/27/25 vs Dobson | 2 |
Jimmy McCarthy looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
At the plate, Keith Price was a standout: he went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February. Luke Ritchie was another key player, going 3-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI.
Red Mountain was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .659. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in four consecutive games.
O'Connor came out on top against Boulder Creek on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive eight-run seventh inning. The Eagles blew past the Jaguars 16-6. The Eagles haven't had any issues with the Jaguars recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Ayden McGinnis got the start for O'Connor and what a start it was: he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. McGinnis has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, O'Connor got a massive performance out of Brent Sollars, who went 2-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. Sollars has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Clayton Sheets, who went 2-for-5 with four RBI, one triple, and one run.
O'Connor's win bumped their record up to 13-3-2. As for Red Mountain, their victory bumped their record up to 12-3.
Friday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Red Mountain has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .488. However, it's not like O'Connor struggles in that department as they've averaged .468. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Red Mountain's way against O'Connor in their previous meeting back in April of 2025, as Red Mountain made off with an 8-0 win. Do the Mountain Lions have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Eagles turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
