The Highland Hawks will take on the Gilbert Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Highland's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs in their last four contests.
If Highland beats Gilbert with 11 runs on Tuesday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. The Hawks came out on top against Desert Ridge by a score of 11-7 on Thursday.
Cambria Chacon looked comfortable as she pitched four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits.
On the hitting side, Highland let Abbie Shellabarger and MiaLani Ocampo run wild. Shellabarger went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and four RBI, while Ocampo went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and one double. That's the most hits Shellabarger has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Karsyn Norton, who went 3-for-5 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double.
Highland was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .455. They are 14-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Gilbert came up short against Higley on Thursday and fell 12-9.
Lexie Kyger made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. She also put up a triple, which was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Arianna Leon, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs.
Highland has been performing well recently as they've won 13 of their last 16 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.4 runs over those games. As for Gilbert, their loss dropped their record down to 9-12-1.
Highland skirted past Gilbert 7-5 in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Will the Hawks repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
