Chaparral is 8-1 against Highlands Ranch since September of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Chaparral Wolverines will welcome the Highlands Ranch Falcons at 3:30 p.m. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Highlands Ranch is hoping to do what Rock Canyon couldn't on Wednesday: put an end to Chaparral's winning streak, which now stands at five games. Everything went Chaparral's way against Rock Canyon as Chaparral made off with a 15-5 win.
Chaparral got a great performance from Sally Helgoth as she tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off seven hits. Helgoth has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ashlyn Burgess, who fired off two home runs, four runs, and four RBI while going 3-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Mikayla Bogucki, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.
She wasn't the only one working in the home runs department: Chaparral lost a few balls and finished the game with four home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Meanwhile, while Highlands Ranch put up plenty of runs on Wednesday, the same can't be said for Smoky Hill. Highlands Ranch was the clear victor by a 13-0 margin over Smoky Hill. The Falcons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by six runs or more this season.
Puna Toelupe made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out seven over four innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in August. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Bridget Nittler was incredible, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, a triple, and a run. The last time her OBP was this high was back in August. Another player making a difference was Brooklyn Swanson, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
The victory got Chaparral back to even at 7-7. As for Highlands Ranch, their win bumped their record up to 5-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Chaparral hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Highlands Ranch struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Chaparral came out on top in a nail-biter against Highlands Ranch when the teams last played back in September of 2023, sneaking past 2-0. Does Chaparral have another victory up their sleeve, or will Highlands Ranch turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
