The Highland Bulldogs will face off against the Hart Hawks at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The timing is sure in Highland's favor as the squad sits on five straight wins at home while Hart has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
Highland proved they can win big last Tuesday (they won by 11) and last Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 12-11 win over Quartz Hill. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
The team relied heavily on Aubrey Reyes, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Paisley Memory, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
The home team had come away the winner the last four times Hart and West Ranch had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Hawks fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 6-4 on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Hawks have suffered since March 5, 2024.
Natalie Williams was cooking despite her team's loss, firing off two home runs while going 2-for-4.
Highland is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 games. That's provided a massive bump to their 17-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.8 runs over those games. As for Hart, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-16.
Hart's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Highland has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Hart, though, as they've been averaging only 4 strikeouts. Will Highland keep running through batters, or will the Hawks buck the trend?
Highland skirted past Hart 4-3 in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Hawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
