Two dominant two-way players in Cayden Hammond and Tanner Leyba are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Highland Hawks will head out on the road to challenge the Gilbert Tigers at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. Both teams have allowed few runs on average, (Highland: 1.9, Gilbert: 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
After a string of seven wins, Highland's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They took an 8-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of Perry. Highland had a rough season last year, but they look ready to turn that poor record around this year.
Micheal Peralta made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-2 with two RBI and a double. The team also got some help courtesy of Beau Tarwater, who scored a run while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Gilbert had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.3 runs), and they went ahead and made it eight on Thursday. They had just enough and edged the Hawks out 4-3.
Gilbert saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Drew Baker, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-2.
Having lost for the first time this season, Highland fell to 7-1. As for Gilbert, their victory was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-3.
Monday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Highland has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .458. However, it's not like Gilbert struggles in that department as they've averaged .467. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Highland came up short against Gilbert when the teams last played back in March of 2023, falling 8-3. Thankfully for Highland, Mason Hamon (who struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
