The Chinle Wildcats will venture away from home to challenge the Combs Coyotes at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Chinle has four straight wins, Combs has seven straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Chinle's tournament run continued when they took on Payson on Thursday. The Wildcats put the hurt on the Longhorns with a sharp 11-2 victory. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won seven games by nine runs or more so far this season.
Kennon Sorrell and Hage Tsosie made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Sorrell tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Tsosie tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in ten consecutive appearances. At bat, Sorrell went 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double, while Tsosie scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. That's the most RBI Sorrell has posted since back in March.
Duane Ayze
| 04/10/25 vs Payson | 2 |
| 04/09/25 vs Window Rock | 2 |
| 04/05/25 vs Miyamura | 2 |
| 03/26/25 @ Ganado | 2 |
| 03/14/25 vs Pinon | 2 |
| + 6 more games |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Duane Ayze, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Chinle is undefeated when Ayze posts two or more runs, but 6-8 otherwise.
Chinle lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Combs came up short against Florence on Thursday and fell 8-3.
Angus Brumbaugh and Emilio Quintana did some serious damage despite the final result: Brumbaugh went a perfect 2-for-2 with one triple and one RBI, while Quintana scored a run and stole four bases while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Chinle's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-8. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Combs, their loss dropped their record down to 3-11-1.
Combs' hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. Chinle has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Combs, though, as they've been averaging only 3.6 strikeouts. Will Chinle keep running through batters, or will the Coyotes buck the trend? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
