The Ponderosa Mustangs will venture away from home to face off against the Heritage Eagles at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Ponderosa will be strutting in after a victory while Heritage will be coming in after a defeat.
Ponderosa is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Colorado's top teams: Mountain Vista, who was ranked second at the time (Ponderosa was ranked 25th). The Mustangs sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-4 win over the Golden Eagles on Thursday.
Ponderosa saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brody Olson, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it was a Battle of the Birds when Heritage faced off against Highlands Ranch on Wednesday. The Eagles fell just short of the Falcons by a score of 8-7. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Jaden McKinney was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed six innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits.
On the hitting side, James Kellogg was cooking despite his team's loss, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and two doubles. He is becoming a predictor of Heritage's success: when he posts at least three RBI the team is 2-1 (and 4-13 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Bode Shoen, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double.
Heritage has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 6-14 record this season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Ponderosa, they have been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-6 record this season.
Heritage's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Ponderosa has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.9 hits per game. It's a different story for Heritage, though, as they've been averaging 9.2 hits. Given Ponderosa's sizable advantage in that area, the Eagles will need to find a way to close that gap.
Ponderosa might still be hurting after the 11-3 defeat they got from Heritage in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Mustangs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
