vs
| 04/08/25 - Away | 6-0 W |
| 04/11/24 - Home | 12-2 W |
| 03/29/24 - Away | 11-3 W |
| 04/13/23 - Home | 5-3 W |
| 03/31/23 - Away | 3-9 L |
| + 5 more games |
Pinnacle has gone 9-1 against Liberty recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Pioneers will host the Lions at 3:45 p.m. Pinnacle will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.
Pinnacle is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Mountain Ridge, who was ranked 19th at the time (Pinnacle was ranked 12th). The Pioneers were the clear victors by a 12-3 margin over the Mountain Lions on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Pioneers, who have now won nine matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Payton Crank was a standout: she went 2-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. She also put up a stolen base, which was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Torynn Slaughter, who went 4-for-5 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Pinnacle kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in six consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Liberty came into Tuesday's contest having lost nine straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Boulder Creek on Tuesday, sneaking past 9-8. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Lions have posted since March 14th.
The team relied heavily on Violet Mitchell, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Emily Madrid, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Pinnacle's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-6-1. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Liberty, their win was their first in the region, bumping their region record up to 1-6 and their overall record up to 7-14-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Pinnacle 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 Liberty struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Pinnacle took their victory against Liberty when the teams last played two weeks ago by a conclusive 6-0 score. Will the Pioneers repeat their success, or do the Lions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
