Chino Valley has won ten straight games at home (dating back to last season), while River Valley has won ten straight on the road also dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Tuesday. The Cougars will welcome the Dust Devils at 3:45 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Chino Valley 3.6, River Valley 2.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Monday just wasn't the day for Chino Valley's offense. They came up short against Kingman on Monday, falling 10-0. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Cougars, who until this contest were averaging 3.61 runs allowed.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask River Valley). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Highland Prep a 25-0 shutout on Monday. Considering the Dust Devils have won 12 matchups by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Adrian Alvarado, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs, two stolen bases, and five RBI. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Mikey Gonzalez was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI.
River Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .684. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .348 or higher in five consecutive games.
River Valley's victory bumped their record up to 17-4. As for Chino Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 11-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Chino Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like River Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Chino Valley came up short against River Valley in their previous matchup back in March, falling 5-0. Will the Cougars have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
