Florence had lost six straight at home, but on Friday they dropped down to 4-11 to make it seven. They fell just short of the Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets by a score of 6-5. The Gophers were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Yellow Jackets apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in April of 2025.
Florence saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was D'Glayne Giberti, who went 1-for-3 with one run.
As for Blue Ridge, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-8 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games.
On Blue Ridge's side, Korti Martinez made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off three hits. Martinez has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two triples, two runs, and two RBI. Those two triples gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Blue Ridge let Xyomara Navarro and Bailey Barton run wild. Navarro went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs, while Barton went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases Navarro has posted since back in April of 2025.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Florence will welcome Apache Junction at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The Prospectors have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 16.27 runs per game on average), something the Gophers will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Blue Ridge, they will host Holbrook at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
