The River Valley Dust Devils will venture away from home to challenge the ALA - West Foothills Guardians at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. River Valley is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.7 runs per game this season.
On Wednesday, River Valley didn't have quite enough to beat Winslow and fell 6-5. That's two games in a row now that the Dust Devils have lost by just one run.
Cherity Gonzalez made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Those stolen bases marked the first that she has snagged this season. Another player making a difference was Morgan MacDonald, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, ALA - West Foothills had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Wednesday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 9-8 W against the Cougars. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Guardians have posted since April 12, 2024.
The team relied heavily on Ave Risati, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Gonzalez, who went 1-for-4 with three stolen bases and two runs.
ALA - West Foothills pushed their record up to 15-7 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.1 runs over those games. As for River Valley, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 16-6-1.
ALA - West Foothills' hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. River Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for ALA - West Foothills, though, as they've been averaging only 4 strikeouts. Will River Valley keep running through batters, or will the Guardians buck the trend?
River Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against ALA - West Foothills when the teams last played back in March, sneaking past 12-10. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Dust Devils since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
