Softball Preview: Shadow Ridge Mustangs vs. Palo Verde Panthers
Shadow Ridge is 9-1 against Palo Verde since May of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. The Shadow Ridge Mustangs will play host again on Wednesday to welcome the Palo Verde Panthers, where first pitch is scheduled at 4:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Shadow Ridge: 3.1, Palo Verde: 2.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Shadow Ridge is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Bishop Gorman as Shadow Ridge made off with a 13-6 win. Shadow Ridge might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won 11 matches by six runs or more this season.
Josslin Law spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and two unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up ten Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in 12 consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Abby Covington was incredible, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Stevie Robison, who scored three runs while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Palo Verde faced Centennial in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. Palo Verde never let Centennial onto the board and left with a 1-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for Palo Verde.
Not much got past Bradi Odom, who gave up just four hits and racked up six Ks to keep Centennial off the board.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Taylor Johns, who went 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, and an RBI.
Shadow Ridge has been performing well recently as they've won 13 of their last 16 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season. As for Palo Verde, their win bumped their record up to 17-7.
Wednesday's game will be a test for both team's pitchers. Shadow Ridge hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .345. However, it's not like Palo Verde struggles in that department as they've averaged .373. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Shadow Ridge came up short against Palo Verde in their previous meeting back in April, falling 3-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Odom, who didn't allow a single earned run over seven innings pitched. Now that Shadow Ridge knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps