The Cactus Shadows Falcons will venture away from home to square off against the Peoria Panthers at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Cactus Shadows has three straight wins, Peoria has 37 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Tuesday, Cactus Shadows got the win against Marcos de Niza by a conclusive 13-1.
Molly Brown
| 04/08/25 @ Marcos de Niza | 5 |
| 04/02/25 @ Saguaro | 6 |
| 03/31/25 vs Saguaro | 10 |
Molly Brown spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on five hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Caylee Cundall was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. She continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Nina Riolo also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Peoria came up short against Agua Fria on Tuesday, falling 15-8. That's two games in a row now that the Panthers have lost by exactly seven runs.
Anieah Lewis was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Genesis Parker was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Cactus Shadows' victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-9. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for Peoria, their loss dropped their record down to 0-15.
Peoria's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Cactus Shadows hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .350. It's a different story for Peoria, though, as they've only averaged .240. Will they be able to contain Cactus Shadows' hitters?
Cactus Shadows suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Peoria when the teams last played back in March of 2015. Can the Falcons avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
