Valor Christian is 1-7 against Columbine since October of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Valor Christian Eagles will take on the Columbine Rebels at 2:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Valor Christian sitting on ten straight wins and Columbine on five.
Valor Christian is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Colorado's top teams: Chatfield, who was ranked 19th in their home state at the time (Valor Christian was ranked sixth). Everything went Valor Christian's way against Chatfield on Thursday as Valor Christian made off with a 12-3 victory. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won eight contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Olivia Schmidt made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than six innings in eight consecutive pitching appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her five plate appearances with a home run and three RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kendall Ferguson, who went 4-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most hits she has posted since back in October of 2023. Another player making a difference was Paige Coleman, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Valor Christian was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .471. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in six consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Columbine got the win against Bear Creek on Thursday by a conclusive 14-1. The result was nothing new for the Rebels, who have now won five matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Like Valor Christian, Columbine also got a great game from a two-way player: Shalee Trujillo. She pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. Trujillo was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.
In other batting news, Liv Keiter and Emerson Santaniello did most of the damage at the plate: Keiter scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4, while Santaniello went 2-for-3 with three RBI, a triple, and a run. Another player making a difference was Mason Abraham, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Valor Christian pushed their record up to 11-1 with that win, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Columbine, their record is now 11-2.
Columbine's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Valor Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Columbine, though, as they've been averaging only 2.5. Will Valor Christian keep running through batters, or will Columbine buck the trend?
Valor Christian might still be hurting after the 14-1 loss they got from Columbine in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. Can Valor Christian avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
