The Chino Valley Cougars are taking a road trip to challenge the Yuma Catholic Shamrocks at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
As a matter of fact, Chino Valley put up the most runs they have all season on Thursday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Highland Prep a 19-0 shutout. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Cougars with their most commanding win of the season.
Milo Rocha
| 04/24/25 vs Highland Prep | 3 |
| 02/27/24 vs Payson | 3 |
Milo Rocha and Caden Todd were major factors while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Rocha tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Todd pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, Rocha posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in February of 2024. At the plate, Rocha went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double, while Todd got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Freddie Garcia, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Caden Doak also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Meanwhile, Yuma Catholic made easy work of Tonopah Valley on Wednesday and carried off a 15-0 win. The Shamrocks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 16 games by six runs or more this season.
Leonel Avelar was a standout: he went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Erik Topete, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base.
Chino Valley is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 9-11-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Yuma Catholic, their record is now 21-2.
Chino Valley suffered a grim 18-0 defeat to Yuma Catholic in their previous matchup back in March of 2023. Can the Cougars avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
