The Deer Valley Skyhawks are taking a road trip to face off against the Paradise Honors Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Deer Valley's pitching crew has only allowed 3.9 runs per game this season, so Paradise Honors' hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Deer Valley's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Tuesday's struggle, when Greenway hitters got past them. Deer Valley came up short against Greenway on Tuesday, falling 16-3. The Skyhawks have struggled against the Demons recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost meetings.
Deer Valley got a big performance out of Priscilla Lopez, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3. That stolen base was Lopez's first of the season. Another player making a difference was Samantha Romero, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Paradise Honors ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Coconino 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory Paradise Honors has posted since April 12, 2024.
The team relied heavily on Gabrielle Marquez, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. Kaydence Glenn was another key player, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one double and one RBI.
The win made it two in a row for Paradise Honors and bumps their season record up to 2-3. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing nine hits in those games compared to only 4.33 in the others. As for Deer Valley, the loss was their first at home , dropping their record down to 5-2-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Deer Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Paradise Honors struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Deer Valley suffered a grim 7-0 defeat to Paradise Honors when the teams last played back in March of 2022. Can Deer Valley avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
