The Cibola Raiders are taking a road trip to take on the Youngker Roughriders at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Cibola took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They had just enough and edged out Holtville 3-2.
Manny Ochoa spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on seven hits.
At the plate, Cibola saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Alfredo Lugo, who went 1-for-3 with one triple and one run. That triple marked the first that Lugo has hit this season.
Meanwhile, Youngker came tearing into Thursday's game with 11 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.5 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Rattlers with a sharp 8-1 victory. Considering the Roughriders have won nine matchups by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Mason Grado made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Riley Carteno, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one triple and two RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Xavier Maldonado was another key player, earning two runs and two stolen bases.
Youngker was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .393. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Canyon only posted a batting average of .182.
Youngker's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-5. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Cibola, their record now sits at 12-9.
