For the first time this season, St. Johns will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will be playing at home against the Round Valley Elks at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
St. Johns came into this matchup off a tough 12-run defeat on Thursday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Show Low by a score of 6-4 on Saturday. The Redskins have struggled against the Cougars recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.
St. Johns saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brennon Leslie, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Round Valley ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Willcox, sneaking past 10-9. The Elks haven't had any issues with the Cowboys recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
JJ Logan was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 3.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.
In other batting news, Jeffery Cochran and Brody Crick did most of the damage at the plate: Cochran went 3-for-5 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base, while Crick scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. Round Valley is undefeated when Cochran posts two or more runs, but 2-3 otherwise. Eli Pena was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.
Round Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .459. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Willcox only posted a batting average of .323.
Round Valley's victory bumped their record up to 6-3. As for St. Johns, their loss dropped their record down to 2-7.
St. Johns might still be hurting after the 12-2 defeat they got from Round Valley when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can St. Johns avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
