The Bonanza Bengals will square off against the Cheyenne Desert Shields at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Cheyenne will be up against a hot Bonanza squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. The Bengals' pitcher stepped up to hand Valley a 21-0 shutout on Wednesday. The contest marked the Bengals' most dominant victory of the season.
Ayla Murphy
| 03/25/26 @ Valley | 0 |
| 03/11/26 vs Clark | 1 |
| 03/10/26 @ Western | 1 |
Ayla Murphy made a splash while hitting and pitching. She pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Bonanza got a massive performance out of Emily Hodsdon, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two stolen bases, three RBI, and one run. Those two stolen bases gave Hodsdon a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Abbie Mitok, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Bonanza always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .857. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Cheyenne, who bounced back after a loss on the road two weeks ago. They came out on top against Western by a score of 15-12 on Tuesday. The Desert Shields haven't had any issues with the Warriors recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Cheyenne saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gabby Crosby, who got on base in four of her five plate appearances with four stolen bases and three runs. Alonna Ennis was another, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one stolen base.
Cheyenne picked up their first home victory, bumping their record up to 2-4-1. As for Bonanza, their win bumped their record up to 5-3.
Cheyenne's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Bonanza has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 13.2 hits per game. It's a different story for Cheyenne, though, as they've been averaging 9.1 hits. Given Bonanza's sizable advantage in that area, the Desert Shields will need to find a way to close that gap.
Bonanza got the 'W' in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 against Cheyenne by a conclusive 12-2 score. Do the Bengals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Desert Shields turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
