Centennial has won six straight games at home, while Rocky Mountain has won six straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. Centennial will take on Rocky Mountain at 6:30 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Centennial 2.6, Rocky Mountain 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Centennial is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Central, who was ranked 17th in their home state at the time (Centennial was ranked 19th). Centennial walked away with a 7-2 win over Central on Monday.
Stryker Eldred looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. What's more, he gave up only zero walks, the fewest he's had since back in April of 2024.
At the plate, Korbyn Nielsen was incredible, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Cooper Powell, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain earned a 5-1 victory over Capital on Thursday. The Grizzlies haven't had any issues with the Golden Eagles recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Aiden Anderson spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on three hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
On the hitting side, Rocky Mountain saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Aiden Henzler, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Rocky Mountain's victory bumped their record up to 8-4. As for Centennial, their win bumped their record up to 10-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Centennial has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Rocky Mountain struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Centennial suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Rocky Mountain when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can Centennial avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
