The River Valley Dust Devils will head out to challenge the Highland Prep Honey Badgers at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (River Valley has five straight victories, Highland Prep has seven straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Friday, River Valley made easy work of Tonopah Valley and carried off a 15-2 win. The Dust Devils might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matches by ten runs or more this season.
Sophia Reyes was a major factor no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple.
Bella Navarro
| 04/11/25 vs Tonopah Valley | 3 |
| 03/15/25 vs Kingman Academy | 2 |
| 03/15/25 vs El Capitan | 2 |
| 04/09/25 vs Highland Prep | 1 |
| 04/02/25 vs Odyssey Institute | 1 |
In other batting news, Bella Navarro was a standout: she went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Those three runs gave her a new career-high. Lovie Phan was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
River Valley kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 18 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in 13 consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Highland Prep came up short against Odyssey Institute on Friday and fell 15-12. Even if the Honey Badgers couldn't come away with the victory, the high-scoring effort was a great turnaround for their hitters, which had struggled int the games prior.
Alexis Rodda made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4. Maliah Johnson also deserves some recognition as she launched her first home run of the season.
River Valley's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-4-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.3 runs over those games. As for Highland Prep, their loss dropped their record down to 3-8.
Highland Prep's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: River Valley has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 11.6 hits per game. It's a different story for Highland Prep, though, as they've been averaging 13.2 hits. Given River Valley's sizable advantage in that area, the Honey Badgers will need to find a way to close that gap.
River Valley took their win against Highland Prep in their previous matchup on Wednesday by a conclusive 18-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Dust Devils since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
