For the first time this season, St. Michael will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will venture away from home to take on the El Capitan Eagles at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
If St. Michael beats El Capitan with 19 runs on Saturday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. St. Michael blew past Valley 19-1 on Wednesday. That looming 19-1 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Cardinals yet this season.
Denea Livingston made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 13 over five innings pitched. Livingston was also big at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, four runs, and four RBI.
In other batting news, Shannon Paul was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, four runs, and four RBI. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 2.5 runs per game. Ashley Johnson was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-5.
St. Michael was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .697. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Fans were treated to a battle of the Eagles on Thursday. El Capitan beat Pinon by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 12-2. El Capitan might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by ten runs or more this season.
Like St. Michael, El Capitan also got a great game from a two-way player: Danni Waters. She struck out 11 batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits (and only one walk). That's the fewest hits Waters has allowed over her last ten games. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-2. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two).
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gracie Castor, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted over her last 11 matches. Ruth Timpson also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.
El Capitan pushed their record up to 6-8-1 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.9 runs on average over those games. As for St. Michael, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
