The Spanish Springs Cougars will look to defend their home field on Saturday against the Reed Raiders at 11:00 a.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Spanish Springs 3.8, Reed 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Spanish Springs is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Douglas, who was ranked fourth at the time (Spanish Springs was ranked sixth). The Cougars skirted past the Tigers 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Cougars have posted since April 30, 2024.
Hannah Fitzpatrick spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on ten hits.
At the plate, Izzy Chisholm was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, one run, and one RBI. That's the most doubles she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Mackenzie Kirkendoll, who went 2-for-5 with two runs.
Spanish Springs was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .387. They are 15-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, after some red-hot attacks at the plate in their last three matchups, Reed finally came back down to earth on Thursday. They fell just short of McQueen by a score of 3-2. The Raiders' loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Krystyn Noble made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one home run.
Spanish Springs is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-8-1 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.1 runs over those games. As for Reed, their defeat dropped their record down to 24-5.
Both Spanish Springs and Reed just can't seem to miss. The Cougars have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.2 hits per game. However, it's not like Reed struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.5 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Spanish Springs came out on top in a nail-biter against Reed in their previous meeting back in March, sneaking past 6-4. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Raiders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
