A feisty cat fight will be fought as Harrison Panthers take on Elizabeth Cardinals at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Harrison is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.
On Thursday, Harrison needed a bit of extra time to put away Colorado Springs Christian. They had just enough and edged out the Lions 4-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Panthers have posted since April 1, 2024.
Santiago Martinez
| 03/20/25 @ Colorado Springs Christian | 8 |
| 03/11/25 vs Pueblo East | 1 |
| 03/08/25 vs Mitchell | 13 |
Santiago Martinez and AJ Mills made a splash no matter where they played. Throwing, Martinez struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits (and not a single walk). Meanwhile, Mills tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. With that strong performance, Martinez is now averaging an impressive 5.5 strikeouts per game. At bat, Martinez went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI, while Mills scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. Mills also brought in an RBI, marking his first of the season.
In other batting news, Anthony Hernandez and Richard Galarza did most of the damage at the plate: Hernandez scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Galarza scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. Galarza is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's snagged at least one every time he's taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. Everything went their way against Cactus as Elizabeth made off with a 12-6 win. Considering the Cardinals have won three contests by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Owen Moons tossed a big game, striking out six batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in March of 2024.
At the plate, Joey Dome was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5. Another player making a difference was Walker Blanchard, who went 2-for-4 with two triples, two RBI, and one run.
Elizabeth was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .424. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .351 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.
Harrison's victory bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Elizabeth, their win bumped their record up to 4-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Harrison has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Elizabeth struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Harrison might still be hurting after the 24-0 loss they got from Elizabeth when the teams last played back in April of 2018. Can Harrison avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
