The Cactus Shadows Falcons will challenge the Mesquite Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Cactus Shadows has nine straight wins, Mesquite has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Cactus Shadows' pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They blew past St. Mary's 15-0. The result was nothing new for the Falcons, who have now won 14 games by six runs or more so far this season.
Molly Brown looked comfortable as she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Ava Fossey was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Fossey, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs and one stolen base.
Cactus Shadows kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in 13 consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Mesquite came up short against Arcadia on Thursday, falling 10-3.
Olivia Romans made the most of her time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Cayleigha Kennedy, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI.
Cactus Shadows' victory bumped their record up to 17-7. As for Mesquite, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-11.
Mesquite's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Cactus Shadows has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.4 hits per game. It's a different story for Mesquite, though, as they've been averaging 10.5 hits. Given Cactus Shadows' sizable advantage in that area, the Wildcats will need to find a way to close that gap.
Cactus Shadows got the 'W' when the teams last played back in April of 2025 against Mesquite by a conclusive 11-4 score. Will the Falcons repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
