The Northwest Christian Crusaders will head out on the road to square off against the Sabino Sabercats at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Sabino will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Northwest Christian extended their winning streak to five on Wednesday. The Crusaders blew past Chinle 13-1.
Sabino came out on top against Sahuaro last Friday thanks in part to the team's impressive 13-run third inning. The Sabercats were the clear victors by an 18-3 margin over the Cougars. The win continues a trend for the Sabercats in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now won three in a row.
Ella Morse and Avery Nielson made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Morse struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). Meanwhile, Nielson pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances. At the plate, Morse got on base in two of her four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run, while Nielson went 2-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and three runs. That's the most RBI Nielson has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Mia Acosta and Alyssa Aguirre did most of the damage at the plate: Acosta got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Aguirre went 3-for-4 with three runs, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Bobbi Valles, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
Sabino hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least three batters in three consecutive contests.
Sabino pushed their record up to 15-11 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Northwest Christian, their record now sits at 18-5.
Northwest Christian suffered a grim 14-4 defeat to Sabino when the teams last played back in March. Can the Crusaders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
