The Higley Knights will head out on the road to square off against the Desert Ridge Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Higley's pitching crew has only allowed 3.5 runs per game this season, so Desert Ridge's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
On Monday, Higley came up short against Pinnacle and fell 6-2. The Knights have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Bryce Russo was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off seven hits (and not a single walk). The dominant performance also gave him a new career-low in walks (zero).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Desert Ridge). They never let Camelback get on the board and left with a 27-0 win on Friday. With that victory, the Jaguars brought their scoring average up to 6.4 runs per game.
Jared Jimenez made a big impact no matter where he played. He pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Desert Ridge is 2-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 2-10 otherwise. Jimenez was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, Desert Ridge got a massive performance out of Dylan Taylor, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple. Those four RBI gave Taylor a new career-high. Vince Richard-Padilla was another key player, scoring two runs while going 4-for-4.
Desert Ridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .630. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Higley's loss dropped their record down to 10-7. As for Desert Ridge, their win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 4-11.
Higley might still be hurting after the 9-1 defeat they got from Desert Ridge in their previous meeting back in April of 2016. Can Higley avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
