The O'Connor Eagles will square off against the Red Mountain Mountain Lions at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
Thursday just wasn't the day for O'Connor's offense. They came up short against Pinnacle on Thursday, falling 7-0. Having soared to a lofty 17 runs in the game before, the Eagles' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
Meanwhile, Red Mountain entered their tilt with Westwood on Thursday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They didn't even let the Warriors on the board, marking their second-straight 14-0 shutout. The Mountain Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 contests by nine runs or more this season.
Kendall Cochran was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 14 over five innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Red Mountain let Payton Westra and Nina Montenegro run wild. Westra went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, five RBI, and one triple, while Montenegro went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most RBI Westra has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Vanessa Pollard, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Red Mountain was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .429. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .429 or higher in three consecutive games.
Red Mountain pushed their record up to 15-4-1 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.7 runs over those games. As for O'Connor, the defeat snapped their winning streak at four games and leaves them with a 17-8 record.
O'Connor took their win against Red Mountain in their previous meeting back in February by a conclusive 15-7 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Eagles since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
