The Palo Verde Panthers will take on the Faith Lutheran Crusaders at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Palo Verde has 17 straight victories, Faith Lutheran has 13 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Palo Verde is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Coronado, who was ranked tenth at the time (Palo Verde was ranked first). The Panthers came out on top against the Cougars by a score of 6-2 on Tuesday.
Haley Kearnes spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on three hits.
Ava Cruz
| 04/29/25 @ Coronado | 2 |
| 04/14/25 vs Coronado | 1 |
| 04/07/25 @ Arbor View | 1 |
| 03/31/25 @ Shadow Ridge | 1 |
| 03/25/25 @ Green Valley | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ava Cruz, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Taylor Johns, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one run.
Green Valley hit Faith Lutheran with a nine-run fifth inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Crusaders lost 15-5 to the Gators. That's two games in a row now that the Crusaders have lost by exactly ten runs.
Kaidence Faulkner stepped up to lead a balanced group of hitters: she went 1-for-2 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Mia Walsh, who went 2-for-3 with one triple and one RBI.
Palo Verde's win was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-0. As for Faith Lutheran, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-14.
Faith Lutheran's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Palo Verde has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.8 hits per game. It's a different story for Faith Lutheran, though, as they've been averaging 11.1 hits. Given Palo Verde's sizable advantage in that area, the Crusaders will need to find a way to close that gap.
Palo Verde took their victory against Faith Lutheran in their previous meeting back in March by a conclusive 22-1 score. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Crusaders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
