The Liberty Patriots will head out on the road to challenge the Arbor View Aggies at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Liberty is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.
Liberty is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Green Valley, who was ranked 13th at the time (Liberty was ranked fourth). The Patriots came out on top against the Gators by a score of 5-2 on Friday. The victory was familiar territory for the Patriots, who have now won three games in a row.
Nicholas Blakeney made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one run and one double.
Shawn Mack
| 04/25/25 @ Green Valley | 9 |
| 04/18/25 @ Palo Verde | 8 |
| 03/28/25 @ Basic | 5 |
| 04/26/24 @ Arbor View | 5 |
| 03/07/25 vs Faith Lutheran | 3 |
In other pitching news, Shawn Mack tossed a big game, striking out nine batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off six hits (and only one walk). Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Austin Rodriguez, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Arbor View). They blew past Coronado 15-1 on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Aggies, who have now won seven contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
Arbor View got a massive performance out of Colton Christman, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Jase DeSantis, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with four runs, two stolen bases, and three RBI.
Arbor View kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Coronado only managed six hits.
Liberty's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-10. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Arbor View, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 14-8.
Liberty beat Arbor View 8-4 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will the Patriots repeat their success, or do the Aggies have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
