Softball Preview: Corona del Sol Aztecs vs. Red Mountain Mountain Lions
The Corona del Sol Aztecs will head out on the road to square off against the Red Mountain Mountain Lions at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Corona del Sol is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They walked away with a 12-8 victory over Perry. The win was a breath of fresh air for Corona del Sol as it put an end to their seven-game losing streak.
Alyssia Munoz spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and six unearned) runs on 11 hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kaylie Pequeno, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, three runs, and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Leah Montenegro, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs.
Meanwhile, Red Mountain waltzed into their matchup on Monday with 12 straight wins... but they left with 13. They put the hurt on the Toros with a sharp 11-0 victory. The result was nothing new for Red Mountain, who have now won 17 matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Not much got past Kendall Cochran, who gave up just two hits and racked up seven Ks to keep Mountain View off the board. Cochran has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Red Mountain let Taylor Hampton and Sophia Marquez loose on the outfield. Hampton went 1-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI, while Marquez went 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Payton Maguire was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Corona del Sol's win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 10-20. As for Red Mountain, their victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 25-2.
Saturday's game will be a test for both team's pitchers. Corona del Sol hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .342. However, it's not like Red Mountain struggles in that department as they've averaged .386. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Corona del Sol came up short against Red Mountain when the teams last played back in February, falling 7-2. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Cochran, who struck out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Now that Corona del Sol knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
