Softball Preview: Cienega Bobcats vs. Nogales Apaches
Cienega is 10-0 against Nogales since March of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Cienega Bobcats will head out on the road to square off against the Nogales Apaches at 4:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Cienega has six straight victories, Nogales has seven straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
In what's become a running theme this season, Cienega gave their fans yet another huge win on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Desert View as Cienega made off with a 6-0 victory.
Kylie Bristol spent all seven innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just zero earned runs on three hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Micaela Valenzuela, who went 2-for-4 with a home run. Sophia Butt was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Nogales suffered a rough 22-2 loss at the hands of Buena on Wednesday.
Nogales saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kayla Martinez, who scored a run while going 3-for-3.
Cienega's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-5. Those good results were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs per game. As for Nogales, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-16.
Nogales' hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Cienega has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Nogales, though, as they've been averaging only 2.4. Will Cienega keep running through batters, or will Nogales buck the trend?
Cienega took their victory against Nogales in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 20-3. Will Cienega repeat their success, or does Nogales have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
