Softball Game Preview: Cienega Bobcats vs. Nogales Apaches

Bobcats

Runs

04/16/25 @ Tucson High Magnet School	3
04/15/25 vs Nogales	16
04/09/25 @ Flowing Wells	18
04/08/25 vs Catalina Foothills	10
04/07/25 vs Flowing Wells	15
+ 22 more games

Cienega has gone a perfect 10-0 against Nogales recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Bobcats will venture away from home to square off against the Apaches at 4:00 p.m. Cienega is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.8 runs per game this season.

Cienega is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Tucson High Magnet School just ended the team's seven-game winning streak on Wednesday. They took a 7-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Badgers. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Melissa Barron was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Allison Mullen, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.

Meanwhile, Nogales was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their eighth straight defeat. They came up short against Cienega, falling 16-1.

Nogales' loss dropped their record down to 7-17. As for Cienega, their defeat dropped their record down to 20-7.

Nogales' hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Cienega has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Nogales, though, as they've been averaging only 3.7 strikeouts. Will Cienega keep running through batters, or will the Apaches buck the trend?

Everything went Cienega's way against Nogales in their previous meeting on Tuesday, as Cienega made off with a 16-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bobcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.