The California City Ravens will square off against the Desert Scorpions at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
On Friday, California City didn't have quite enough to beat Rosamond and fell 20-19. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Tuesday (15), the Ravens still had to take the loss.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Desert). They put the hurt on Frazier Mountain with a sharp 25-8 victory on Monday. Considering the Scorpions have won eight matchups by more than seven runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Alayna Phillips was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She struck out 12 batters over five innings while giving up five earned (and three unearned) runs off only two hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in ten consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all five of her plate appearances with four stolen bases, five runs, and seven RBI. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two).
In other batting news, Rachel Hewes was incredible, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI. She has been hot for a while, having posted at least one stolen base the last 13 times she's played. Kaylee Rogers was another key player, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with four runs and one RBI.
Desert always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .619. They are a perfect 7-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
The win (which was Desert's third in a row) raised their record to 12-6. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 17.3 runs over those games. As for California City, their loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 7-1 and their overall record down to 11-9.
California City took their win against Desert in their previous matchup back in March by a conclusive 9-1 score. Will the Ravens repeat their success, or do the Scorpions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
