The McCollum Cowboys will venture away from home to challenge the Southwest Dragons at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
McCollum had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the ten-run drubbing they dealt Southwest Legacy on Saturday. The Cowboys put the hurt on the Titans with a sharp 15-5 victory. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Cowboys considering their two-run performance the matchup before.
RUIZ MADELYNN spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five earned runs on ten hits. She also put up a triple, which was her first of the season.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on MARTINEZ LAUREN, who went 3-for-5 with one home run, four stolen bases, and three runs. What's more, she posted four RBI, the most she's had since back in February. Another player making a difference was SORAYA TORRES, who got on base in three of her five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: McCollum kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Southwest). Everything went their way against Southwest Legacy on Thursday as they made off with an 18-3 win. The Dragons haven't had any issues with the Titans recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Isabela Gutierrez was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Tommie Betancourt, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one stolen base.
The win was the third in a row for McCollum, bringing their record up to 16-5. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Southwest, their record now sits at 16-8.
McCollum might still be hurting after the 9-2 defeat they got from Southwest in their previous meeting back in March. Can the Cowboys avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
