Baseball Game Preview: Coolidge Bears vs. Valley Christian Trojans

Coolidge is 0-6 against Valley Christian since March of 2016 but things could change on Monday. The Bears will square off against the Trojans at 6:30 p.m. Coolidge has given up an average of 8.7 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Coolidge came into their game on Saturday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They lost 17-3 to Tanque Verde.

Coolidge saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Patrick Perez, who went 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI.

Meanwhile, Valley Christian had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Friday. Everything went their way against the Lobos as they made off with a 15-2 win. The Trojans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 matches by six runs or more this season.

Carson Grier and Jaxen Maxey made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Grier struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits (and only one walk). Meanwhile, Maxey struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Grier has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. At bat, Grier scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4, while Maxey scored three runs and stole four bases while going 2-for-3. That's the most runs Maxey has posted since back in March.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Brayden Waggoner, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, three stolen bases, and three runs. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Caleb Danzeisen was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Valley Christian pushed their record up to 18-2 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.7 runs over those games. As for Coolidge, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-10.

Coolidge might still be hurting after the 18-2 loss they got from Valley Christian when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.