The Superior Panthers will head out to face off against the Desert Heights Prep Yote at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Superior has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with seven straight defeats, while Desert Heights Prep will come in with three straight wins.
Superior blew Valley Lutheran out of the water the last time the pair played, but on Tuesday Valley Lutheran got their revenge. The Panthers fell just short of the Flames by a score of 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Panthers have suffered since April 1st.
Superior saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Noah Jimenez, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double. That double marked the first that Jimenez has hit this season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Desert Heights Prep). They were the clear victors by a 24-0 margin over Valley Lutheran on Saturday. The result was nothing new for the Yote, who have now won eight contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
Cayle Haskell and Jayven Reyes were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Haskell struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Reyes tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in eight consecutive appearances. At the plate, Haskell went 1-for-3 with three runs, one triple, and one RBI, while Reyes got on base in three of his five plate appearances with three runs and one RBI. That's the most runs Reyes has posted since back in February.
In other batting news, Desert Heights Prep let Justin Aguon and Jesse Aguon run wild. Justin got on base in all five of his plate appearances with five runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Jesse got on base in all five of his plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and one double. Justin continues to improve, besting his previous run total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Mason Wicker, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Desert Heights Prep always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .682. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Desert Heights Prep's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-2-1. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Superior, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-14.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Superior has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Desert Heights Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 11.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
