Softball Game Preview: Moon Valley Rockets vs. Marcos de Niza Padres

The Moon Valley Rockets will face off against the Marcos de Niza Padres at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Moon Valley has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with nine straight defeats, while Marcos de Niza will come in with nine straight wins.

Wednesday just wasn't the day for Moon Valley's offense. They lost 20-0 to Paradise Honors on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Marcos de Niza was not the first on the board on Thursday, but they got there more often. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Thunderbird 11-10.

Leila Rodriguez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and eight unearned) runs off four hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Alaina Tavena, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Sierrah Ortega, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.

Marcos de Niza kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in April of 2024.

Marcos de Niza's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-0. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.6 runs over those games. As for Moon Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 1-9.