The Palo Verde Panthers will head out on the road to challenge the Centennial Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Palo Verde is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Palo Verde is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Liberty, who was ranked fourth at the time (Palo Verde was ranked first). The Panthers put the hurt on the Patriots with a sharp 9-3 victory on Monday. Considering the Panthers have won eight contests by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Palo Verde got a massive performance out of Taylor Johns, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Kayleen Enriquez was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Palo Verde was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .444. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .304 or higher in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Centennial gave up the first runs on Tuesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Shadow Ridge 6-4. The victory continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their matchups with the Mustangs: they've now won three in a row.
Lily Fournier spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and three unearned) runs on six hits and racked up ten Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one walk in 11 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Centennial's win was truly a team effort as nine different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Sydnee Smith, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Palo Verde's victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 15-0. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Centennial, their record is now 12-10.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Palo Verde has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Centennial struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Palo Verde came out on top in a nail-biter against Centennial in their previous meeting two weeks ago, sneaking past 1-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
