Softball Game Preview: Independence Patriots vs. Coconino Panthers

The Independence Patriots will take on the Coconino Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Independence sitting on four straight wins and Coconino on 19.

Independence's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They blew past Sierra Linda 21-0. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by ten runs or more this season.

Mariana Perez Vargas was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out nine over four innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of her four plate appearances with three runs and one RBI.

Genevieve De La Cruz

Runs

04/24/25 vs Sierra Linda	4
04/22/25 @ Sierra Linda	3
04/17/25 @ Glendale	3
04/15/25 vs Glendale	0
04/14/25 vs Ironwood	1
+ 6 more games

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Genevieve De La Cruz, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, four runs, and two RBI. That's the most runs she has posted since back in March. Carmen Hernandez was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBI.

Independence always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .559. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Coconino made easy work of Mingus on Friday and carried off a 13-0 victory. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 20 matches by six runs or more this season.

Coconino's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 24-4. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Independence, their record is now 13-3.