The Marcos de Niza Padres are taking a road trip to square off against the Mesquite Wildcats at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Marcos de Niza has seven straight victories, Mesquite has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Marcos de Niza had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 13-run drubbing they dealt South Mountain on Friday. Marcos de Niza never let South Mountain get on the board and left with a 13-0 win. The Padres might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by eight runs or more this season.
Leila Rodriguez made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Dakota Dunn
| 03/28/25 vs South Mountain | 3 |
| 03/27/25 @ St. Mary's | 2 |
| 03/25/25 vs St. Mary's | 2 |
| 03/05/25 @ McClintock | 2 |
| 03/04/25 @ Combs | 1 |
| + 12 more games |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dakota Dunn, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Sierrah Ortega, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.
Marcos de Niza always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .607. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as South Mountain only posted an OBP of .059.
Meanwhile, Mesquite lost 13-5 to Saguaro on Thursday.
Layla Ontiveros was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That RBI marked the first that she brought in this season. Jasmine Jaramillo was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one triple and one RBI.
Marcos de Niza pushed their record up to 7-0 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Mesquite, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-7.
Mesquite's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Marcos de Niza has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.4 hits per game. It's a different story for Mesquite, though, as they've been averaging 10.5 hits. Given Marcos de Niza's sizable advantage in that area, Mesquite will need to find a way to close that gap.
Marcos de Niza took their victory against Mesquite when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 14-1. Will Marcos de Niza repeat their success, or does Mesquite has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
