vs
| 03/18/26 - Home | 5-1 W |
| 04/17/25 - Home | 3-8 L |
| 03/19/25 - Away | 13-3 W |
| 04/22/24 - Away | 19-4 W |
| 03/12/24 - Home | 14-9 W |
| + 5 more games |
River Valley is 8-2 against Kingman since March of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Dust Devils will challenge the Bulldogs at 3:45 p.m. One thing working in River Valley's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs in their last six games.
River Valley can't be too worried about heading out to take on Kingman: they just beat Chino Valley at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. The Dust Devils never let the Cougars get on the board and left with a 10-0 win on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Dust Devils, who have now won 13 matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Mickey Smith made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one RBI.
In other batting news, Hunter Koehler and Aiden Parker did most of the damage at the plate: Koehler went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base, while Parker went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. That's the most hits Parker has posted since back in March. Mikey Gonzalez was another key player, going 1-for-3 with three RBI and one double.
Kingman came out on top against Chino Valley on Monday thanks in part to the team's impressive seven-run second inning. The Bulldogs put the hurt on the Cougars with a sharp 10-0 victory. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Bulldogs considering their one-run performance the contest before.
Like River Valley, Kingman also got a great game from a two-way player: Canton Collins. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over 5.1 innings pitched. Collins also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Kingman is 5-2 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 4-8 otherwise. Collins was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season.
In other batting news, Cash Collins was incredible, going 4-for-5 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. He has become a key player for Kingman: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least three hits, but 7-9 otherwise.
River Valley is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 16 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Kingman, their record is now 9-10.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. River Valley has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Kingman struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
River Valley beat Kingman 5-1 when the teams last played back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Dust Devils since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
