The Highland Hawks will square off against the Cibola Raiders at 3:45 p.m. on Friday.
Highland blew Higley out of the water the last time the pair played, but on Thursday Higley got their revenge. The Hawks fell just short of the Knights by a score of 2-0. Having soared to a lofty 11 runs in the game before, the Hawks' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
Meanwhile, Cibola played in-conference for the first time on Thursday and got just the result they were looking for. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over Gila Ridge. The game was the first time the Raiders have beaten the Hawks on their field since March 15, 2024.
Isaac Lopez made a splash no matter where he played. He tossed six innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one double and one RBI.
Lopez wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Alfredo Lugo, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Cibola has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Highland, their loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 11-9.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
