Baseball Game Preview: Durango Trailblazers vs. Palo Verde Panthers

Durango is 0-7 against Palo Verde since March of 2016 but things could change on Thursday. The Trailblazers will host the Panthers at 3:30 p.m. Durango will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each game than the last.

Durango barely beat Sierra Vista the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Trailblazers never let the Mountain Lions get on the board and left with an 8-0 victory on Wednesday. The Trailblazers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven contests by six runs or more this season.

The result came thanks to Eron Galvan's shutout, as he gave up just four hits and racked up eight Ks.

Josiah Lavea-Aldridge

Runs

04/15/26 vs Sierra Vista	2
04/01/26 @ Mira Mesa	2
03/12/26 vs Foothill	2
03/02/26 vs Boulder City	2
04/13/26 @ Sierra Vista	1
+ 7 more games

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Josiah Lavea-Aldridge, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two runs. Durango is undefeated when Lavea-Aldridge posts two or more runs, but 5-14 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Kysyn Kauahipaula, who went 1-for-3 with one home run.

Meanwhile, Palo Verde faced Faith Lutheran in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. The Panthers fell just short of the Crusaders by a score of 9-8.

Owen Anderson was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. That home run was his first of the season. Keimani Johnson was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.

Palo Verde's defeat dropped their record down to 18-7. As for Durango, their win ended a five-game drought at home and bumped them up to 9-14.

Durango suffered a grim 15-4 defeat to Palo Verde when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Trailblazers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.