Softball Preview: Sheldon Irish vs. Grants Pass Cavemen
Sheldon is 10-0 against Grants Pass since April of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Sheldon Irish will head out on the road to square off against the Grants Pass Cavemen at 3:00 p.m. Sheldon will be looking to extend their current 13-game winning streak.
Sheldon is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Oregon's top teams: Sherwood, who was ranked 11th in their home state at the time (Sheldon was ranked third). Sheldon sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-2 victory over Sherwood on Tuesday.
Payton Burnham made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out 19 over seven innings pitched. Burnham has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 14 consecutive pitching appearances. Burnham was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a home run.
In other batting news, Brooke Peterson was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and an RBI. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last three games she's played. Kinley Pappas was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases.
Grants Pass might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 6-5 to North Medford, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior. Grants Pass has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Sheldon pushed their record up to 18-3 with that win, which was their seventh straight at home. As for Grants Pass, their loss dropped their record down to 6-13.
Sheldon took their victory against Grants Pass when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 15-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Sheldon since the team 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
