The Sabino Sabercats will square off against the Benjamin Franklin Chargers at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Sabino is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Cholla on Wednesday as Sabino made off with a 17-2 victory. The win was nothing new for the Sabercats as they're now sitting on five straight.
Alannis Ochoa was incredible, scoring three runs while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two). Another player making a difference was Alyssa Aguirre, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Ochoa wasn't the only one working in the hit department: Sabino kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That's a new trend for Sabino: they were averaging 5.4 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 12.4.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last match, Benjamin Franklin made sure to put some runs up on the board against San Tan Foothills on Thursday. Benjamin Franklin blew past San Tan Foothills 31-20. The Chargers haven't had any issues with the Sabercats recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.
Vanessa Delavigne made a big impact no matter where she played. She struck out six batters over 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Madison Sigourney, who scored five runs and stole two bases while going 4-for-5. She also hit two triples, marking her first of the season. Kinley Blair was another key player, scoring five runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in five of her six plate appearances.
Sabino's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-9. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.8 runs over those games. As for Benjamin Franklin, their win bumped their record up to 4-6.
Friday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Sabino hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .322. However, it's not like Benjamin Franklin struggles in that department as they've averaged .412. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Sabino's way against Benjamin Franklin in their previous matchup back in March of 2019, as Sabino made off with a 15-1 victory. Will Sabino repeat their success, or does Benjamin Franklin has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
