Softball Game Preview: Mountain Ridge Mountain Lions vs. Boulder Creek Jaguars

Mountain Lions

Runs

04/16/25 vs Queen Creek	4
04/10/25 @ Liberty	2
04/09/25 vs Shadow Ridge	3
04/08/25 @ O'Connor	1
04/03/25 @ Pinnacle	4
+ 15 more games

Mountain Ridge has gone 9-1 against Boulder Creek recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Mountain Lions will challenge the Jaguars at 3:45 p.m. Mountain Ridge is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.

Mountain Ridge is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Queen Creek, who was ranked fourth at the time (Mountain Ridge was ranked 12th). The Mountain Lions came up short against the Bulldogs on Wednesday, falling 21-4. The Mountain Lions have struggled against the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.

Mountain Ridge saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gianna Torres, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.

Meanwhile, Boulder Creek came up short against Pinnacle on Monday and fell 7-2.

McKenzie Hernandez was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she tossed 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.

Boulder Creek's defeat dropped their record down to 18-6. As for Mountain Ridge, their loss dropped their record down to 14-6.

Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Mountain Ridge has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.3 hits per game. However, it's not like Boulder Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.6 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.

Mountain Ridge skirted past Boulder Creek 6-4 when the teams last played on April 1st. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mountain Lions since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.