Baseball Game Preview: Cactus Shadows Falcons vs. Marcos de Niza Padres

For the second straight game, Cactus Shadows will face off against Marcos de Niza. The Falcons will square off against the Padres at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday. Cactus Shadows is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 11.2 runs per game this season.

Cactus Shadows barely beat Marcos de Niza the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Falcons never let the Padres get on the board and left with a 15-0 victory on Tuesday. The high-scoring effort was just what the Falcons needed considering they were shut out in their previous matchup.

Grayson Headon

Batters Struck Out

04/08/25 vs Marcos de Niza	8
04/02/25 vs Saguaro	9
03/27/25 @ Arcadia	6
03/21/25 vs Eastmark	9
03/17/25 vs Putnam City	7
+ 2 more games

Grayson Headon looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. He has been consistent : he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Cactus Shadows got a massive performance out of Evan Hanish, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Carter Brown was another key player, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3.

Cactus Shadows kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in February of 2024.

Cactus Shadows' win was their 11th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-2-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Marcos de Niza, they have been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last seven games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 6-12 record this season.