The Laguna Creek Cardinals are taking a road trip to take on the Pleasant Grove Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Monday, Laguna Creek made easy work of Monterey Trail and carried off a 12-2 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Cardinals.
Laguna Creek got a great performance from Nikiya Jumpingbull as she pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits.
At the plate, Aundrea Jackson was incredible, going 2-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Azariah Maddox, who went 1-for-3 with three runs and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Pleasant Grove had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.2 runs) and they went ahead and made it seven on Monday. They walked away with an 8-5 win over the Huskies.
Madeline Lawson made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out ten batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off ten hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Logan Paredes, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Shealynn Stinson was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Pleasant Grove always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .515. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Pleasant Grove pushed their record up to 13-5 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for Laguna Creek, the victory got them back to even at 11-11.
Both Laguna Creek and Pleasant Grove just can't seem to miss. The Cardinals have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.2 hits per game. However, it's not like Pleasant Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.5 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Laguna Creek came out on top in a nail-biter against Pleasant Grove when the teams last played back in April, sneaking past 5-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cardinals since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
