Liberty is 9-1 against Doherty since September of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Liberty Lancers will host the Doherty Spartans at 3:30 p.m. Liberty is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.9 runs per game this season.
Liberty is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Pueblo West just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Tuesday. They came up short against the Cyclones, falling 15-4. The loss continues a trend for the Lancers in their matchups with the Cyclones: they've now lost three in a row.
Alex Graham made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with three RBI, a triple, and a run. The team also got some help courtesy of Selena Morales, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Doherty). Everything went their way against Palmer on Saturday as Doherty made off with a 17-3 victory. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Spartans considering their two-run performance the match before.
Nana Saiz was a major factor no matter where she played. She struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in September of 2023. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, Cayla Baker was incredible, going 3-for-3 with a home run, six RBI, and two runs. Maritza Enriquez was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Doherty always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .867. That's a new trend for them: their average OBP was 31.6% earlier this season, but in their last five contests they've averaged 46.1%.
Liberty's defeat dropped their record down to 5-5. As for Doherty, the win snapped their losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 2-9 record.
Doherty's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Liberty hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of 0. It's a different story for Doherty, though, as they've only averaged 0. Will they be able to contain Liberty's hitters?
Liberty took their victory against Doherty in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 16-1. Does Liberty have another victory up their sleeve, or will Doherty turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
