Baseball Game Preview: North Canyon Rattlers vs. Verrado Vipers

The North Canyon Rattlers are taking a road trip to face off against the Verrado Vipers at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. North Canyon is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7 runs per game this season.

North Canyon barely beat Shadow Mountain the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Rattlers were the clear victors by a 21-8 margin over the Matadors on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Rattlers in their matchups with the Matadors: they've now won three in a row.

Mason Hougland looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances.

Brandon Alexander

Runs

02/28/25 @ North	4
04/25/25 @ Shadow Mountain	2
03/04/25 @ Independence	2
03/01/25 @ South Mountain	2
04/22/25 @ Youngker	1
+ 2 more games

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Brandon Alexander, who went 3-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple. He has become a key player for North Canyon: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 6-14 otherwise. Hunter Dye was another key player, going 3-for-5 with one triple, one run, and one double.

North Canyon always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .635. The last time their OBP was this high was back in March.

Willow Canyon typically has all the answers at home, but on Friday Verrado proved too difficult a challenge. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Wildcats 2-1. The win was nothing new for the Vipers as they're now sitting on three straight.

Verrado saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Braxton Bjur, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.

North Canyon's record is now 10-14. As for Verrado, their record now sits at 17-7-1.

North Canyon suffered a grim 11-1 defeat to Verrado in their previous meeting on April 2nd. Can the Rattlers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.