vs
| 04/24/25 - Home | 3-8 L |
| 04/10/25 - Away | 0-1 L |
| 05/07/24 - Away | 0-1 L |
| 04/24/24 - Away | 9-4 W |
| 04/11/24 - Home | 0-2 L |
| + 5 more games |
Centennial and Palo Verde are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2022, but likely not for long. The Bulldogs will challenge the Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Centennial comes in on five and Palo Verde on 20.
Centennial is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Shadow Ridge, sneaking past 6-5.
Sloane Merrell made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits. Merrell was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March.
In other pitching news, Lily Fournier looked comfortable as she struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 17 consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, Madden Turner was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Sydnee Smith, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one RBI.
Centennial kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in seven consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Palo Verde faced Bishop Gorman in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. The Panthers were the clear victors by a 16-0 margin over the Gaels. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 contests by six runs or more this season.
Palo Verde got a massive performance out of Taylor Johns, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and two doubles. Another player making a difference was Mya Bartlett, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and two RBI.
Palo Verde pushed their record up to 20-0 with the victory, which was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.2 runs on average over those games. As for Centennial, their record is now 17-11.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Centennial hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Palo Verde struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.2 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Centennial couldn't quite get it done against Palo Verde when the teams last played two weeks ago as they fell 8-3. Can the Bulldogs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
