It was a good run, but Maricopa unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Monday. They took a 7-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Valley Vista Monsoon. Maricopa has not had much luck with Valley Vista recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Ethan Chavez was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. Chavez has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive pitching appearances. Chavez was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Chavez wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Cayden Cook, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Even though they lost, Maricopa didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with nine strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Valley Vista only tossed five.
On Valley Vista's side, Elijah White spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on four hits.
On the hitting side, Valley Vista let Stephen Neal and Jacob Tovar loose on the outfield. Neal got on base in four of his five plate appearances with an RBI, while Tovar scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Maricopa's defeat dropped their record down to 14-7. As for Valley Vista, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-11-1 record this season.
While Maricopa had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
