The Highland Rams will stay at home for another game and welcome the Thunder Ridge Titans at 1:00 a.m. on Saturday. Highland is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 8.1 runs per game this season.
Highland will bounce into Saturday's game after beating Bonneville, who they hadn't topped in nine consecutive meetings. Highland walked away with a 7-3 win over Bonneville on Wednesday.
Mason Payne was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Payne was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.
In other pitching news, Jackson Hale looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits.
Payne wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Hudson John, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Thunder Ridge had to settle for a 14-13 defeat against Madison on Tuesday.
Preston Hanson and Hudson Harker did some serious damage despite the final result: Hanson scored two runs while going 2-for-2, while Harker got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs, a triple, and an RBI. Another player making a difference was Easton Carling, who went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a double.
Highland is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season. As for Thunder Ridge, their loss dropped their record down to 4-13.
Thunder Ridge's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Highland has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.2 hits per game. It's a different story for Thunder Ridge, though, as they've been averaging 9.4. Given Highland's sizable advantage in that area, Thunder Ridge will need to find a way to close that gap.
Highland skirted past Thunder Ridge 10-8 when the teams last played last Wednesday. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Thunder Ridge's Austin Leigh, who went 4-for-4 with three RBI and two doubles. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Highland still be able to contain Leigh? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
