Liberty hasn't had much luck against Shadow Ridge recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Patriots are taking a road trip to face off against the Mustangs at 3:30 p.m. Liberty has given up an average of 7.8 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Liberty is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Arbor View, who was ranked fourth at the time (Liberty was ranked 23rd). The Patriots lost 14-3 to the Aggies on Wednesday.
Liberty saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Danielle Luvanos, who went 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Shadow Ridge got the win against Bishop Gorman on Wednesday by a conclusive 17-6. Considering the Mustangs have won eight matchups by more than eight runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Shadow Ridge got a massive performance out of Rosely Hensley-Mokiao, who went a perfect 5-for-5 with seven RBI, three runs, and one double. Those five hits gave Hensley-Mokiao a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Devaeh Crawford, who went 2-for-4 with four runs, two stolen bases, and three RBI.
Shadow Ridge was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .476. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bishop Gorman only posted a batting average of .308.
Shadow Ridge has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 12 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for Liberty, their loss dropped their record down to 7-12.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Liberty hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Shadow Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.8 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Liberty couldn't quite get it done against Shadow Ridge when the teams last played back in March as they fell 10-7. Can the Patriots avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
