The O'Connor Eagles will square off against the Pinnacle Pioneers on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
O'Connor is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Red Mountain as they made off with a 19-9 victory. The game was the first time the Eagles have beaten the Mountain Lions on their field since April 15, 2022.
The team relied heavily on Raegan Holtorf, who got on base in five of her six plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Zoey Kuhl, who went 3-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, and two RBI.
O'Connor kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. They are 13-1 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, Pinnacle faced Hamilton in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. The Pioneers blew past the Huskies 9-3. The win was nothing new for the Pioneers as they're now sitting on ten straight.
Kodi Crabtree spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on three hits and racked up ten Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Payton Crank was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run and four RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Torynn Slaughter, who went 2-for-3 with three runs and one double.
Pinnacle pushed their record up to 17-6-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for O'Connor, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 21-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. O'Connor 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 Pinnacle struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
O'Connor suffered a grim 7-0 defeat to Pinnacle in their previous matchup back in April. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
