The Lakewood Tigers will take on the Chaparral Wolverines at 10:00 a.m. on Friday. Lakewood has given up an average of 7 runs per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Lakewood is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Colorado's top teams: Columbine, who was ranked fourth at the time (Lakewood was ranked 17th). The Tigers came up short against the Rebels on Friday, falling 14-4. The Tigers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Alanni Maddux led a balanced group of hitters, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Elena Borjas was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Chaparral hadn't beaten Ralston Valley on the road since October 24, 2015 but that history sure didn't bother them on Saturday. The Wolverines walked away with a 9-6 win over the Mustangs. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Wolverines.
Grace Carpenter spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and three unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up six Ks.
On the hitting side, Stevie Alvarado was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. Those three runs gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Keegan Freitas, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and one double.
Chaparral kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They are 8-2 when they post 11 or more hits.
Lakewood's loss dropped their record down to 16-7. As for Chaparral, their victory bumped their record up to 13-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Lakewood 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 Chaparral struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Lakewood skirted past Chaparral 5-4 when the teams last played back in October of 2021. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Wolverines have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
