The Sun Valley Spartans will venture away from home to take on the Cuthbertson Cavaliers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Sun Valley will aim to continue their four-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
Sun Valley made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Central Academy, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Spartans were the clear victors by a 13-3 margin over the Cougars on Wednesday. That ten run margin sets a new team best for the Spartans this season.
Kendall Smith (2026)
| 04/02/25 vs Central Academy | 3 |
| 03/05/25 @ Union Academy | 1 |
| 04/25/24 @ Porter Ridge | 1 |
| 03/04/24 vs Butler | 1 |
Kendall Smith (2026) made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Those three RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Gretchen Daniel (2028) was incredible, scoring four runs and stealing four bases while going 3-for-3. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in RBI (two). Nykoll Vera (2027) also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.
Sun Valley lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Cuthbertson made easy work of South Mecklenburg on Wednesday and carried off a 17-7 win. The Cavaliers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight contests by eight runs or more this season.
Like Sun Valley, Cuthbertson also got a great game from a two-way player: Grace Murray. She tossed four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. Murray was even better at the plate, scoring four runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4.
In other batting news, Cuthbertson let Gabby Martens and Kristine Dipiazza run wild. Martens scored two runs while going 2-for-5, while Dipiazza went 2-for-5 with four RBI and one triple. Alexis Juhl was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Sun Valley's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-6. As for Cuthbertson, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-3 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Sun Valley has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Cuthbertson struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Sun Valley might still be hurting after the 8-0 defeat they got from Cuthbertson in their previous matchup back in March. Can the Spartans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
