The Sunrise Mountain Mustangs will take on the Lake Havasu Knights at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. Sunrise Mountain is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.
Thursday just wasn't the day for Sunrise Mountain's offense. They fell 3-0 to Centennial on Thursday. Having soared to a lofty 21 runs in the game before, the Mustangs' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
Ethan Dinnell was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over six innings pitched. What's more, he gave up only three hits, the fewest he's had since back in February.
Meanwhile, Lake Havasu never let their opponents score on Thursday. Everything went their way against Kellis as they made off with a 12-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Knights, who have now won 11 matchups by eight runs or more so far this season.
Carson Lockman was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, Brock Cross was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI. Frenando Mendoza was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Lake Havasu always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .636. They are a perfect 8-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Lake Havasu has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 12 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.9 runs on average over those games. As for Sunrise Mountain, their loss dropped their record down to 11-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Sunrise Mountain has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lake Havasu struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
