Baseball Game Preview: North Canyon Rattlers vs. Shadow Mountain Matadors

The North Canyon Rattlers will head out on the road to face off against the Shadow Mountain Matadors at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

North Canyon came up short against Youngker on Thursday, falling 8-1. The Rattlers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

North Canyon saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was JORGE CORDERO, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

Thunderbird hit Shadow Mountain with a seven-run sixth inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Matadors lost 16-6 to the Titans. The loss continues a trend for the Matadors in their meetings with the Titans: they've now lost six in a row.

Gavin Lieske made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one double. He is becoming a predictor of Shadow Mountain's success: when he posts at least three RBI the team is 3-1 (and 6-13-1 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Jack Zauner, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.

Shadow Mountain's defeat dropped their record down to 9-14-1. As for North Canyon, their loss dropped their record down to 9-14.

Friday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. North Canyon hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .319. However, it's not like Shadow Mountain struggles in that department as they've averaged .348. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.

North Canyon came out on top in a nail-biter against Shadow Mountain in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Rattlers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.