The Xavier College Prep Gators will look to defend their home field on Saturday against the Desert Ridge Jaguars at 11:00 a.m. Xavier College Prep will be looking to keep their nine-game home win streak alive.
Xavier College Prep is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Hamilton, who was ranked 13th in their home state at the time (Xavier College Prep was ranked third). Xavier College Prep had just enough and edged Hamilton out 4-2. That's two games straight that Xavier College Prep has won by exactly two runs.
Angie Falls made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she tossed seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Falls has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than six innings in five consecutive pitching appearances. Falls was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Lauren Putz was excellent, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Meanwhile, with a playoff game on the line, Desert Ridge rose to the challenge on Wednesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Raiders a 17-0 shutout. Desert Ridge's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Like Xavier College Prep, Desert Ridge also got a great game from a two-way player: Cierra Smith. She didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Smith was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, Brooklyn Parks was a standout: she fired off four doubles, four RBI, and a run while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Halle Davis, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and a stolen base.
Xavier College Prep has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 14 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 23-4-1 record this season. As for Desert Ridge, their victory bumped their record up to 9-19.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Xavier College Prep hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Desert Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Xavier College Prep took their win against Desert Ridge in their previous meeting back in March by a conclusive 11-0. Does Xavier College Prep have another victory up their sleeve, or will Desert Ridge turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
