With a playoff game on the line, Palo Verde rose to the challenge on Monday. They had just enough and edged the Foothill Falcons out 7-6. The victory was familiar territory for Palo Verde who now have seven in a row.
Drew Kaplan made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Kaplan has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. Kaplan was also big at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.
In other pitching news, Hayden Lucibello looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Barrett Johnson, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double. Another player making a difference was Jace Jefferies, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
On Foothill's side, they saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Thayne Watson, who went 3-for-6 with two RBI. Josh Vaughn was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Palo Verde has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 22-10 record this season. As for Foothill, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 20-11-1 record this season.
Palo Verde will take on Green Valley at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Palo Verde is looking to tack on another W to their four-game streak on the road. As for Foothill, they will take on Shadow Ridge at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Foothill is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
