Cherokee Trail is 6-1 against Chaparral since August of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Cherokee Trail Cougars will stay at home for another game and welcome the Chaparral Wolverines at 3:30 p.m. Cherokee Trail is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 12 runs per game this season.
Cherokee Trail is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Legend just ended the team's 13-game winning streak on Wednesday. They came up short against the Titans, falling 8-2. The game marked the Cougars' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Sydney Cobb spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits.
Meanwhile, Chaparral came tearing into Wednesday's match with nine straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.2 runs) and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Raiders a 20-0 shutout. The Wolverines' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Emma Graham looked comfortable as she pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts.
On the hitting side, Ashlyn Burgess was incredible, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Another player making a difference was Ella Pomme, who scored three runs while going 4-for-4.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Chaparral hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in 12 consecutive matchups.
Cherokee Trail's loss ended a seven-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 16-3. As for Chaparral, they pushed their record up to 12-7 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road.
Chaparral's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Cherokee Trail has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 12.7 hits per game. It's a different story for Chaparral, though, as they've been averaging 9.7. Given Cherokee Trail's sizable advantage in that area, Chaparral will need to find a way to close that gap.
Cherokee Trail skirted past Chaparral 10-9 when the teams last played back in August of 2023. Will Cherokee Trail repeat their success, or does Chaparral have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
