Softball Game Preview: Sonoma Valley Dragons vs. Rancho Cotate Cougars

The Sonoma Valley Dragons are taking a road trip to take on the Rancho Cotate Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Sonoma Valley will be strutting in after a victory while Rancho Cotate will be coming in after a defeat.

Sonoma Valley will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Wednesday, then bounced right back against Napa on Friday. The Dragons put the hurt on the Grizzlies with a sharp 11-5 win. The Dragons haven't had any issues with the Grizzlies recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.

Morgan Briggs made a big impact no matter where she played. She struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up five earned runs off ten hits (and not a single walk). That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in April of 2024. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that she hit this season.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Katherine Kiser, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances. Ellie Llanos was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-5.

Sonoma Valley kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post 11 or more hits.

Meanwhile, Rancho Cotate suffered their closest loss since March 25th on Thursday. They fell just short of Maria Carrillo by a score of 8-6. The Cougars haven't had much luck with the Pumas recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.

Sonoma Valley's win was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-4 and their overall record up to 4-9. As for Rancho Cotate, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-7.

Sonoma Valley couldn't quite get it done against Rancho Cotate when the teams last played back in February of 2024 as they fell 6-3. Can the Dragons avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.