Softball Game Preview: Desert Vista Thunder vs. Skyline Coyotes

The Desert Vista Thunder will venture away from home to challenge the Skyline Coyotes at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Desert Vista is coming into the game hot, having won their last six games.

Desert Vista is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victor by a 21-1 margin over Valley Vista on Wednesday. The Thunder might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by 15 runs or more this season.

Thailee Jones made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out six batters over two innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was even better at the plate, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run and five RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in February of 2024.

Kristina Mendoza

Runs Batted In (Career)

03/05/25 @ Valley Vista	3
02/26/25 vs Flowing Wells	2
04/10/24 @ Gilbert	2
03/16/24 vs Desert Edge	2
03/03/25 vs Chandler	1

In other batting news, Ava Briski and Kristina Mendoza did most of the damage at the plate: Briski scored four runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Mendoza scored two runs while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave Mendoza a new career-high in RBI (three). Another player making a difference was Mckenzie Leitgen, who scored four runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.

Desert Vista always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .714. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Valley Vista only posted an OBP of .273.

Meanwhile, in Thursday's Canine Competition, Skyline didn't have enough. They lost 17-2 to Chandler on Thursday. The Coyotes have struggled against the Wolves recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive lost meetings.

Skyline's loss dropped their record down to 2-7. As for Desert Vista, they pushed their record up to 9-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season.

Skyline's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Desert Vista has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 14.1 hits per game. It's a different story for Skyline, though, as they've been averaging 10.1 hits. Given Desert Vista's sizable advantage in that area, Skyline will need to find a way to close that gap. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.