Softball Game Preview: Ironwood Eagles vs. Willow Canyon Wildcats

For the second straight game, Ironwood will face off against Willow Canyon. The Eagles will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Wildcats at 3:45 p.m. Ironwood is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.1 runs per game this season.

Ironwood had been on a three-game streak of scoring at least ten runs, but Willow Canyon put an end to it on Tuesday. The Eagles came up short against the Wildcats, falling 10-0. The Eagles haven't had much luck with the Wildcats recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.

For Willow Canyon's part, Easton Spriggs made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 13 over six innings pitched. Those 13 strikeouts gave Spriggs a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one triple.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Mataya Olson, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Addy Cervantes, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.

Willow Canyon pushed their record up to 9-6-1 with the victory, which was their 18th straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games. As for Ironwood, their defeat was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 6-8.