Preview: Cyprus Pirates vs. Morgan Trojans
The Cyprus Pirates will head out on the road to face off against the Morgan Trojans at 3:30 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Cyprus sitting on three straight wins and Morgan on seven.
Last Thursday, Cyprus was able to grind out a solid victory over West Jordan, taking the game 7-4.
Bree Garcia spent all seven innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on eight hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Calee Sharp was incredible, firing off two home runs, three runs, and four RBI while going 3-for-4. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one home run the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ainzleigh Quinn, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Morgan can now show off five landslide victories after their most recent game on Friday. They put the hurt on Union with a sharp 16-2 win.
Eva Birkeland made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out nine batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Birkeland was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Lexi Hardman was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 3-for-5. Gwen Rickard was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.
Cyprus' victory ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 4-5. As for Morgan, they pushed their record up to 7-0 with that win, which was their third straight on the road.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Cyprus hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Morgan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.9 per game. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Cyprus came out on top in a nail-biter against Morgan in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, sneaking past 8-6. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Morgan's Tess Polad, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI. Now that she won't be playing on Monday, will it be that much easier for Cyprus to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
