Softball Preview: Cherokee Trail Cougars vs. Castle View Sabercats
The Cherokee Trail Cougars will challenge the Castle View Sabercats at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Cherokee Trail comes in on three and Castle View on four.
Cherokee Trail is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Colorado's top teams: Fruita Monument, who was ranked 14th in their home state at the time (Cherokee Trail was ranked tenth). Cherokee Trail put the hurt on Fruita Monument with a sharp 12-2 victory on Thursday. Considering the Cougars have won five contests by more than seven runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Cherokee Trail let Kennedy Brian and Tayah Burton loose on the outfield. Brian scored a run while going 2-for-4, while Burton scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. Burton is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last eight games she's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Kylie Twilt, who scored a run while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Cherokee Trail always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .562. The last time their OBP was this high was back in October of 2023.
Meanwhile, Castle View got the win against Dakota Ridge on Friday by a conclusive 13-1. That's two games straight that the Sabercats have won by exactly 12 runs.
Tessa Ivy made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and not a single walk). Ivy was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Sienna Simmons and Zoe Salazar did most of the damage at the plate: Simmons scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Salazar went 1-for-2 with two runs, a triple, and an RBI. Another player making a difference was Stella Romeo, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Cherokee Trail has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. As for Castle View, they pushed their record up to 5-2 with that win, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season.
Tuesday's matchup will be a test for both team's pitchers. Cherokee Trail hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of 0. However, it's not like Castle View struggles in that department as they've averaged 0. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Cherokee Trail's way against Castle View in their previous matchup back in August of 2023 as Cherokee Trail made off with a 13-3 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Cherokee Trail 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
