Lakewood hasn't had much luck against Columbine recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Tigers will venture away from home to challenge the Rebels at 4:00 p.m. Lakewood has given up an average of 6.7 runs per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Lakewood is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Colorado's top teams: Valor Christian, who was ranked 23rd at the time (Lakewood was ranked 16th). The Tigers fell 13-8 to the Eagles on Wednesday.
NeVaeh Roybal was cooking despite her team's loss, going 4-for-5 with one home run, four runs, and one triple. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucy Retzer, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Columbine entered their tilt with Bear Creek on Thursday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They blew past the Bears 14-1. The result was nothing new for the Rebels, who have now won 11 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Columbine also got a great performance from Karter Pascavis as she tossed five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. What's more, Pascavis posted four strikeouts, the most she's had since back in August.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Nina Vargas, who fired off two home runs and four RBI while going 2-for-4. Mason Abraham was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Columbine was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .448. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in five consecutive matchups.
Columbine's record now sits at 17-5. As for Lakewood, their loss dropped their record down to 16-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Lakewood hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Columbine struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Lakewood's way against Columbine in their previous meeting two weeks ago, as Lakewood made off with a 15-8 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
