The Chino Valley Cougars will face off against the Tonopah Valley Phoenix at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Chino Valley is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by an 18-1 margin over Odyssey Institute on Monday. The victory continues a trend for the Cougars in their matchups with the Minotaur: they've now won six in a row.
Kinsey Murphy made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out nine batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Those two doubles gave her a new career-high.
Rebecca Sanders
| 03/31/25 @ Odyssey Institute | 5 |
| 03/15/25 vs Kingman | 1 |
| 03/15/25 vs El Capitan | 1 |
| 03/08/25 vs Salome | 1 |
In other batting news, Chino Valley got a massive performance out of Rebecca Sanders, who went 3-for-4 with five RBI, one triple, and one run. Those five RBI gave Sanders a new career-high. Maleah Garcia was another key player, scoring three runs while going 2-for-3.
Chino Valley kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Tonopah Valley won against Glendale Prep Academy on Saturday with 20 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Monday. Tonopah Valley blew past Highland Prep 20-1. Considering the Phoenix have won four games by more than 13 runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Lena Hacker was a standout: she went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple. That triple marked the first that she hit this season. Another player making a difference was Ellie Procunier, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4.
The win got Chino Valley back to even at 7-7. As for Tonopah Valley, the victory got them back to even at 5-5.
Everything went Chino Valley's way against Tonopah Valley in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, as Chino Valley made off with a 9-2 win. Will Chino Valley repeat their success, or does Tonopah Valley has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
