Baseball Game Preview: Coconino Panthers vs. Cactus Shadows Falcons

By Team Reports Apr 2, 2025, 11:04pm

Baseball Preview: Coconino Panthers vs. Cactus Shadows Falcons

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The Coconino Panthers will take on the Cactus Shadows Falcons at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with three losses in a row, Coconino turned things around against Mohave on Monday. They blew past the Thunderbirds 13-3. The Panthers not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since February 27th.

Corbin Derr

Runs Batted In

03/04/25 vs Paradise Honors5
03/31/25 vs Mohave4
02/26/25 @ Peoria3
03/14/25 vs Empire1
03/01/25 @ Shadow Ridge1
+ 2 more games

Coconino let Ty Sevier and Corbin Derr run wild. Sevier fired off two home runs and four RBI while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances, while Derr went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Derr has become a key player for Coconino: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least three RBI, but 3-8-1 otherwise. Steven Stone was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three runs and three doubles.

Coconino was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .469. The last time their batting average was this high was back in April of 2024.

Meanwhile, Cactus Shadows beat Saguaro 5-1 on Wednesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Falcons.

Grayson Headon spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up nine Ks. He has been consistent : he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Evan Hanish was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Owen Konerko, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.

Cactus Shadows' win was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-1-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.2 runs over those games. As for Coconino, the win was their first at home , bumping their record up to 5-9-1.

Coconino couldn't quite finish off Cactus Shadows in their previous meeting back in April of 2016 and fell 9-7. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps