The Desert Ridge Jaguars will head out to square off against the Apollo Hawks at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Desert Ridge is coming into the game on a five-game losing streak.
Desert Ridge made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Queen Creek, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Jaguars fell just short of the Bulldogs by a score of 3-1 on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Jaguars have suffered since March 21st.
Desert Ridge got a good showing from Novi Muffo, who tossed 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits.
On the hitting side, Desert Ridge saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Elena Esquivel, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, after low-scoring totals in their previous three contest, Apollo brought some dynamite into their most recent match. They put the hurt on Cesar Chavez with a sharp 14-4 win on Monday. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Hawks as it put an end to their six-game losing streak.
Kianna Diets-Doyle made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching six innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. What's more, she posted four strikeouts, the most she's had since back in February. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Whitney Chrisman, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Natalia Hernandez Alatorre also deserves some recognition as she got her first hit of the season.
Apollo was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .387. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cesar Chavez only posted a batting average of .182.
Desert Ridge's defeat dropped their record down to 16-11. As for Apollo, they picked up their first home win, bumping their record up to 4-15.
Apollo's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Desert Ridge has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.9 hits per game. It's a different story for Apollo, though, as they've been averaging 10.5 hits. Given Desert Ridge's sizable advantage in that area, the Hawks will need to find a way to close that gap. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
