The West Mesa Mustangs will face off against the Hope Christian Huskies at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
West Mesa is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Del Norte with a sharp 22-3 victory on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Knights: they've now won six in a row.
Armoni Baca made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over four innings pitched. Baca was also big at the plate, scoring four runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of West Mesa's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 2-1 (and 0-3 when he doesn't).
Ayden Gonzales
| 03/04/25 vs Del Norte | 3 |
| 02/22/25 @ Highland | 2 |
| 04/04/24 vs Valencia | 1 |
| 03/28/24 vs Cibola | 1 |
| 03/22/24 vs Menaul/Oak Grove | 1 |
In other batting news, Ayden Gonzales was a standout: he scored three runs while going 1-for-2. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Daniel Rodriguez, who went 1-for-4 with three runs and one triple.
West Mesa always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .526. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Del Norte only posted an OBP of .381.
Meanwhile, Hope Christian put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. They were the clear victor by a 10-3 margin over East Mountain.
Avery Dearholt looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over four innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Trey Baillio and Keegan Johnson did most of the damage at the plate: Baillio went 2-for-3 with one home run, one triple, and two RBI, while Johnson scored two runs while going 3-for-4. Those hits marked the first that Baillio got this season. Porter Chastain was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Hope Christian's victory bumped their record up to 4-0. As for West Mesa, the win was their first at home , bumping their record up to 2-4.
West Mesa came up short against Hope Christian in their previous matchup back in March of 2018, falling 7-2. Can West Mesa avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
