Softball Preview: Arvada West Wildcats vs. Highlands Ranch Falcons
The Arvada West Wildcats will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Highlands Ranch Falcons at 11:00 a.m. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Arvada West is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Chaparral 21-12 on Tuesday. With that win, the Wildcats brought their scoring average up to 8.6 runs per game.
Makinzi Gallegos and Jailynn Ausman did most of the damage at the plate: Gallegos scored six runs and stole a base while going 4-for-5, while Ausman went 4-for-5 with a home run, six RBI, and three runs. With that strong performance, Gallegos is now averaging an impressive 2.2 runs per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Macie Ferguson, who went 3-for-6 with four RBI and a run.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Arvada West always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .593. The last time their OBP was this high was back in August of 2023.
Highlands Ranch never got on the board in their matchup on Tuesday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Dakota Ridge on Thursday. They were the clear victor by a 10-4 margin over the Eagles.
Belle Andrews made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out 14 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits (and only one walk). Andrews was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Lydia Slocum was incredible, going 1-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Bri Cordray was another key player, going 1-for-3 with three runs and a triple.
Arvada West's victory was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-3. As for Highlands Ranch, their win bumped their record up to 2-4.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Arvada West has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Highlands Ranch struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Arvada West took their victory against Highlands Ranch in their previous matchup back in August of 2023 by a conclusive 13-4. Will Arvada West repeat their success, or does Highlands Ranch have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
