The Phoenix Christian Cougars will venture away from home to take on the Pima Roughriders at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Phoenix Christian has six straight wins, Pima has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
While Phoenix Christian's victory against Fountain Hills wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Cougars had just enough and edged out the Falcons 4-3 on Tuesday. Those four runs were actually the fewest the Cougars have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Kevin Palafox made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up a single earned run in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Evan Matthews was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Pima lost 10-3 to Round Valley on Saturday.
Pima saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cedrick Grimes, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.
Phoenix Christian's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Pima, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-6-1.
Pima's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Phoenix Christian hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .384. It's a different story for Pima, though, as they've only averaged .209. Will they be able to contain Phoenix Christian's hitters?
Phoenix Christian was able to grind out a solid win over Pima in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, winning 7-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
