The Round Valley Elks will face off against the Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. Round Valley is coming into the contest hot, having won their last four games.
Round Valley is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Pinon get on the board and left with a 22-0 win on Tuesday. Considering the Elks have won five matches by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Lane Hill
| 04/01/25 vs Pinon | 4 |
| 03/03/25 vs Greyhills Academy | 3 |
| 03/19/25 @ Morenci | 2 |
| 03/29/25 vs Pima | 1 |
| 03/05/25 @ Santa Cruz Valley | 1 |
Lane Hill and Brenton Walker made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Hill tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Walker pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. At the plate, Hill went 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI, while Walker scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Those four RBI gave Hill a new career-high.
In other batting news, Round Valley let JJ Logan and Jeffery Cochran run wild. Logan scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Cochran scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Those four runs gave Logan a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Eli Pena, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, after a string of eight wins, Blue Ridge's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They fell just short of Snowflake by a score of 9-7. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Yellow Jackets have suffered since February 28th.
Brenton Newcomb made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Matthew Rooney, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Round Valley pushed their record up to 9-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Blue Ridge, their defeat was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 9-4.
Thursday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Round Valley hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .365. However, it's not like Blue Ridge struggles in that department as they've averaged .340. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Round Valley suffered a grim 13-3 defeat to Blue Ridge when the teams last played back in March of 2018. Can the Elks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
