The Valley Christian Trojans will challenge the Thatcher Eagles at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Thatcher will square off against a team with plenty of momentum: Valley Christian extended their winning streak to three on Thursday. The Trojans put the hurt on Florence with a sharp 16-6 win. Considering the Trojans have won nine games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Ty Pasisich looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than one walk in nine consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Jaxen Maxey was a standout: he got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Carson Grier, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Thatcher). They were the clear victors by a 21-2 margin over Amphitheater on Thursday. With that victory, the Eagles brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Jett Howard and Kody Bingham were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Howard tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Bingham tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Howard also tossed a walk, which is notable because Thatcher is undefeated when he allows at most one walk, but 3-8 otherwise. At the plate, Howard scored a run while going 1-for-2, while Bingham got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. That triple was Bingham's first of the season.
In other batting news, Thatcher let Jax Shupe and Dee Allen run wild. Shupe scored two runs while going 2-for-2, while Allen scored a run while going 2-for-2. Thatcher is undefeated when Shupe posts two or more runs, but 2-8 otherwise. Brig Romney was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
Thatcher was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .556. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .323 or higher in three consecutive matches.
Valley Christian's win bumped their record up to 15-2. As for Thatcher, their victory ended an eight-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 6-8.
Everything went Valley Christian's way against Thatcher in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, as Valley Christian made off with an 11-4 win. Will the Trojans repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
