The Santa Cruz Valley Dust Devils will head out to face off against the Tombstone Yellow Jackets at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Santa Cruz Valley is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by an 11-1 margin over Pima. The high-scoring effort was just what the Dust Devils needed considering they were shut out in their previous contest.
Santa Cruz Valley got a massive performance out of Melody Cade, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most hits Cade has posted since back in February. Mariah Davis also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
Santa Cruz Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pima only posted a batting average of .250.
Meanwhile, Tombstone hadn't done well against Willcox recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way last Friday. The Yellow Jackets blew past the Cowboys 20-10. The Yellow Jackets haven't had any issues with the Cowboys recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Kyla Gross and Bria Gross made a splash no matter where they played. Throwing, Gross didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Bria tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. At the plate, Gross got on base in four of her five plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI, while Bria went 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Hayden Dobbins, who went 4-for-5 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. McKenzy Nicoll was another key player, going 2-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI.
Santa Cruz Valley pushed their record up to 18-9 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Tombstone, they now have a winning record of 14-13.
Santa Cruz Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against Tombstone in their previous meeting last Tuesday, sneaking past 8-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Dust Devils since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
