The Highland Hawks will square off against the Desert Mountain Wolves at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Highland's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs every time they've taken the field this season.
Highland's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Chaparral 10-0. Fans of the Hawks have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 6+ runs.
Ryder Wilmarth tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 5.1 innings pitched. What's more, she posted three strikeouts, the most she's had since back in March of 2024.
Alexis Eley
| 02/28/25 @ Chaparral | 3 |
| 02/28/25 vs Perry | 1 |
| 02/27/25 @ Corona del Sol | 1 |
| 04/10/24 vs Desert Ridge | 1 |
| 03/06/24 @ Skyline | 1 |
On the hitting side, Alexis Eley was a standout: she scored a run and stole three bases while going 3-for-4. Those three stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Abbie Shellabarger, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Highland kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 11 hits in four consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last contest, Desert Mountain made sure to put some runs up on the board against O'Connor on Thursday. Desert Mountain came out on top against O'Connor by a score of 11-8.
McKinsey Beyer was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Zoe Horning was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Highland's record is now 3-0. As for Desert Mountain, their record is now 2-0-1.
Desert Mountain's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Highland has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .523. It's a different story for Desert Mountain, though, as they've only averaged .344. Will they be able to contain Highland's hitters?
Highland suffered a grim 11-5 defeat to Desert Mountain in their previous matchup back in February of 2022. Can Highland avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
