The West Point Dragons will square off against the Desert Ridge Jaguars at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
West Point is headed into Monday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Thursday. They lost 19-12 to Tolleson.
Mariah Mendez made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and got on base in four of her five plate appearances with two runs. Zerianna Gomez was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two runs.
Meanwhile, Desert Ridge came into Friday's match having lost five straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They never let Apollo get on the board and left with a 19-0 victory on Friday. Considering the Jaguars have won 11 games by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Halle Davis made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (four). She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one triple.
In other batting news, Brooklyn Parks and Summer Mittendorf did most of the damage at the plate: Parks got on base in four of her five plate appearances with three runs and three RBI, while Mittendorf went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double. That's the most hits Mittendorf has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Daphne Torres, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with three runs and one RBI.
Desert Ridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .763. They are 9-1 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
West Point's defeat dropped their record down to 12-11. As for Desert Ridge, their win bumped their record up to 17-11.
Desert Ridge's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: West Point has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.9 hits per game. It's a different story for Desert Ridge, though, as they've been averaging 9 hits. Given West Point's sizable advantage in that area, the Jaguars will need to find a way to close that gap. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
