Chino Valley hasn't had much luck against Blue Ridge recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Cougars will welcome the Yellow Jackets at 3:45 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Chino Valley is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Winslow with a sharp 16-2 win on Wednesday. Surprisingly, this marked the fourth straight game that the away team has come away the victor.
Freddie Garcia
| 04/09/25 @ Winslow | 2 |
| 03/18/25 vs Camp Verde | 2 |
| 03/10/25 @ Show Low | 2 |
| 03/04/25 @ Bourgade Catholic | 2 |
| 04/04/25 @ Parker | 1 |
| + 5 more games |
Freddie Garcia was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off six hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. He has become a key player for Chino Valley: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 3-6-1 otherwise.
In other batting news, Chino Valley got a massive performance out of Jacob Boivin, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. That's the most RBI Boivin has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Ryan Lamotte, who scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances.
Chino Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .625. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Blue Ridge won against Round Valley last Thursday with eight runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets blew past Holbrook 8-1. The Yellow Jackets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by seven runs or more this season.
Blue Ridge also got a great performance from Cooper Phillips as he didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched.
At the plate, Karson Rosenthal and Hunter Krause did most of the damage at the plate: Rosenthal scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-4, while Krause scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Matthew Rooney was another key player, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Blue Ridge has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.2 runs over those games. As for Chino Valley, their win bumped their record up to 6-7-1.
Chino Valley suffered a grim 12-6 defeat to Blue Ridge in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Can the Cougars avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
