The Horizon Honors Eagles will square off against the Santa Cruz Valley Dust Devils at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Santa Cruz Valley will be up against a hot Horizon Honors team: the squad just extended their winning streak to ten. Everything went the Eagles' way against Camp Verde on Saturday as they made off with a 16-3 victory.
Audriana Anglada made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out nine over four innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in March. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one run and one double.
Danica Gutierrez
| 04/26/25 @ Camp Verde | 4 |
| 03/29/25 @ Desert Christian | 3 |
| 05/02/24 vs St. Johns | 3 |
| 04/16/24 @ St. Augustine Catholic | 3 |
| 03/01/24 vs Tonopah Valley | 3 |
In other batting news, Nicole Topete and Danica Gutierrez did most of the damage at the plate: Topete fired off two home runs and five RBI while going 2-for-4, while Gutierrez got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and three RBI. Those four runs gave Gutierrez a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Josie Barden, who went 2-for-3 with one home run.
Horizon Honors was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .625. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .312 or higher in 14 consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Santa Cruz Valley got themselves on the board against Arizona Lutheran Academy on Thursday, but Arizona Lutheran Academy never followed suit. They put the hurt on the Coyotes with a sharp 13-0 win. The Dust Devils haven't had any issues with the Coyotes recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
The team relied heavily on Ceeana Banda, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Mikayla Leos was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Horizon Honors pushed their record up to 18-1 with the win, which was their ninth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.1 runs over those games. As for Santa Cruz Valley, their win bumped their record up to 17-8.
Monday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Horizon Honors has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .601. However, it's not like Santa Cruz Valley struggles in that department as they've averaged .472. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Horizon Honors was able to grind out a solid victory over Santa Cruz Valley in their previous meeting back in March, winning 6-3. Will the Eagles repeat their success, or do the Dust Devils have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
