Willow Canyon hasn't had much luck against Desert Mountain recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Wildcats will take on the Wolves at 4:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Willow Canyon is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. Everything went their way against Casa Grande as they made off with a 15-7 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Wildcats.
Mataya Olson was incredible, getting on base in all five of her plate appearances with two runs, two doubles, and one RBI. That's the most doubles she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Courtney Ray, who went 2-for-4 with three runs and one RBI.
Willow Canyon was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .486. They are 16-2 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Desert Mountain came tearing into Saturday's game with 22 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.5 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Coyotes a 13-0 shutout.
Lilly 'Goose' Goodwin made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 21 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Zoe Horning was a standout: she went 1-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. McKinsey Beyer was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Desert Mountain pushed their record up to 26-1-1 with the victory, which was their 23rd straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for Willow Canyon, their record now sits at 19-9-1.
Tuesday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Willow Canyon hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .358. However, it's not like Desert Mountain struggles in that department as they've averaged .379. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Willow Canyon couldn't quite finish off Desert Mountain in their previous meeting back in April and fell 2-0. Can the Wildcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
