The Queen Creek Bulldogs will challenge the Perry Pumas at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Queen Creek is coming into the match hot, having won their last 15 games.
Queen Creek's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They walked away with a 4-0 win over Casteel.
Alexis Mendez looked comfortable as she struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one walk in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Tayla Falquez was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one double. Another player making a difference was Abbey Redish, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Perry had no trouble coming through when it counted. They had just enough and edged out Tolleson 1-0 on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Pumas have posted since April 1st.
Julianna Nava looked comfortable as she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Perry's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Jasmine Abeyta, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI. That's the most hits Abeyta has posted since back in March.
Perry hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are 9-2 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Queen Creek's victory was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 24-5. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Perry, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-13 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Queen Creek has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Perry struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Queen Creek was able to grind out a solid victory over Perry in their previous meeting back in March, winning 6-3. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Pumas have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
