Softball Preview: Sabino Sabercats vs. Marana Tigers
The Sabino Sabercats will head out on the road to square off against the Marana Tigers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Sabino: 1.6, Marana: 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Last Wednesday, Sabino faced Mountain View in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Sabino blew past Mountain View 13-3. Considering Sabino has won 12 matches by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Sabino let Xitlali Zuniga and Lilly Mann loose on the outfield. Zuniga went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI, while Mann scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Alyssa Aguirre, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Thursday just wasn't the day for Marana's offense. Their tough 9-0 defeat to Sunnyside on Thursday might stick with them for a while. Marana has not had much luck with Sunnyside recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Marana saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cadence Beck, who went 2-for-3 with a double. Beck has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single walk in three consecutive pitching appearances.
Sabino has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-4 record this season. As for Marana, their loss dropped their record down to 18-5.
Marana's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. Sabino has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.4 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Marana, though, as they've been averaging only 3.9. Will Sabino keep running through batters, or will Marana buck the trend?
Sabino took their win against Marana when the teams last played back in March of 2023 by a conclusive 13-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for Sabino since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
