Hillcrest extended their losing streak to 11 on Friday, dropping them down to 8-18. They came up short against the Payson Lions, falling 11-1. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Huskies of the 14-4 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in April of 2023.
Hillcrest saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Boston Carrell, who went 1-for-2 with one double and one RBI.
As for Payson, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 15-10. The high-scoring effort was just what they needed considering they were shut out in their previous game.
On Payson's side, Brigzen Houser was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and only one walk). Those ten strikeouts gave Houser a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs. He is becoming a predictor of Payson's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 6-10 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Payson got a big performance out of Cole Neves, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Ty Marvin was another key player, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI.
While Hillcrest had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
