The Notre Dame Prep Saints will take on the Chaparral Firebirds at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Wednesday, Notre Dame Prep earned a 6-2 victory over Mountain Pointe. The Saints haven't had any issues with the Pride recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Shane Behnke looked comfortable as he pitched 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one walk any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Aidan Martinez was excellent, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Owen Boeding, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Chaparral had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They walked away with an 11-8 victory over the Wolves. With that win, the Firebirds brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Brock Little and Camden Evans dominated on the mound. Little tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit, while Evans tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, Little posted two strikeouts, the most he's had since back in February.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Bo Shuba, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and four RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in February. Gavin Mesa was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one triple.
Chaparral was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .462. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Chaparral's victory bumped their record up to 11-8. As for Notre Dame Prep, their win bumped their record up to 7-12.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Notre Dame Prep has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Chaparral struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Notre Dame Prep was able to grind out a solid victory over Chaparral in their previous matchup back in March, winning 6-3. Will the Saints repeat their success, or do the Firebirds have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
