The Pinnacle Pioneers will challenge the O'Connor Eagles on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Pinnacle is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by a 9-3 margin over Hamilton. Winning may never get old, but the Pioneers sure are getting used to it with their tenth in a row.
Kodi Crabtree spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on three hits and racked up ten Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Payton Crank was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run and four RBI. Torynn Slaughter was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three runs and one double.
Pinnacle was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .394. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hamilton only posted a batting average of .125.
Meanwhile, O'Connor faced Red Mountain in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. The Eagles blew past the Mountain Lions 19-9. The Eagles' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
The team relied heavily on Raegan Holtorf, who got on base in five of her six plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Zoey Kuhl, who went 3-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, and two RBI.
Pinnacle's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-6-1. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for O'Connor, the win was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record up to 21-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Pinnacle hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.1 home runs per game. However, it's not like O'Connor struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Pinnacle took their victory against O'Connor when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 7-0 score. Will the Pioneers repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
