Baseball Preview: Saguaro Sabercats vs. Canyon del Oro Dorados
The Saguaro Sabercats will stay at home for another game and welcome the Canyon del Oro Dorados at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (Saguaro: 2.8, Canyon del Oro: 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Saguaro's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They walked away with a 5-0 win over Flagstaff.
Flagstaff's batters probably weren't too happy with Cade Shumard, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 17 Ks (he gave up three walks). Shumard has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Saguaro saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Christopher Margarella, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Canyon del Oro faced Estrella Foothills in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. Canyon del Oro won by a run and slipped past Estrella Foothills 3-2. The victory was nothing new for Canyon del Oro as they're now sitting on five straight.
Grant Young spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on six hits and racked up nine Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Michael Chop, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
Saguaro pushed their record up to 27-3 with that win, which was their tenth straight at home. As for Canyon del Oro, they are on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 25-6 record this season.
Monday's match might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Saguaro has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .488. However, it's not like Canyon del Oro struggles in that department as they've averaged .460. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Saguaro might still be hurting after the 14-6 defeat they got from Canyon del Oro when the teams last played back in February. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Young, who struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Now that Saguaro knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
