The Chino Valley Cougars are taking a road trip to square off against the Yuma Catholic Shamrocks at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
If Chino Valley beats Yuma Catholic with 13 runs on Monday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. The Cougars' pitcher stepped up to hand Tonopah Valley a 13-0 shutout on Saturday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Cougars.
Kinsey Murphy
| 04/26/25 vs Tonopah Valley | 10 |
| 04/24/25 vs Wickenburg | 13 |
| 04/23/25 @ ALA - West Foothills | 8 |
| 04/21/25 vs Highland Prep | 12 |
| 04/17/25 vs Parker | 7 |
| + 9 more games |
Kinsey Murphy 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 ten over five innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in 14 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jamie Felton, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Ava Smith was another key player, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Chino Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .686. The last time their OBP was this high was back in March.
Meanwhile, Yuma Catholic entered their tilt with Tonopah Valley on Wednesday with six consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with seven. They put the hurt on the Phoenix with a sharp 11-0 win. The Shamrocks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 15 games by six runs or more this season.
The result came thanks to Cherish Trujillo's shutout, as she gave up just a hit and racked up nine Ks. Those nine strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.
At the plate, Isabel Rodriguez and Faith Donley did most of the damage at the plate: Rodriguez went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI, while Donley went 2-for-3 with one home run. The team also got some help courtesy of Leah Soto, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and one RBI.
Chino Valley pushed their record up to 14-10 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for Yuma Catholic, their record now sits at 21-4.
Monday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Chino Valley hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .329. However, it's not like Yuma Catholic struggles in that department as they've averaged .417. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
