The Cactus Shadows Falcons will square off against the Combs Coyotes at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Cactus Shadows will be strutting in after a victory while Combs will be coming in after a defeat.
Cactus Shadows is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Thunderbird with a sharp 12-1 win on Tuesday. The Falcons haven't had any issues with the Titans recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.
Molly Brown looked comfortable as she struck out 11 batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, Bailey Fitzmaurice was a standout: she went 1-for-2 with one home run and four RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Madi Handke, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Cactus Shadows was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .381. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Thunderbird only posted a batting average of .211.
Meanwhile, Combs was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost an 11-9 heartbreaker at the hands of Tempe.
Sophie Pearson stepped up to lead a balanced group of hitters: she scored a run and stole Three bases. while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Tatum Kechely, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Cactus Shadows pushed their record up to 3-4 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Combs, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.
Cactus Shadows took their victory against Combs when the teams last played back in April of 2018 by a conclusive 14-7. Will Cactus Shadows repeat their success, or does Combs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
