The Centennial Hawks will take on the Organ Mountain Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Organ Mountain will square off against a team with plenty of momentum: Centennial extended their winning streak to five on Thursday. The Hawks put the hurt on Gadsden with a sharp 16-6 win. That's two games straight that the Hawks have won by exactly ten runs.
Chase Sanchez made a big impact no matter where he played. He struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Sanchez was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and one triple. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cole Alons, who went 3-for-5 with two triples, three RBI, and one run. That's the most triples he has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Manny Grajeda, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Organ Mountain faced Las Cruces in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Knights' pitcher stepped up to hand the Bulldawgs an 11-0 shutout. Surprisingly, this marked the Knights' third straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Organ Mountain also got a great performance from Brennan McNiece as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. McNiece has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Eren De Leon was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one double. Devyn Garces was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
Organ Mountain was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .452. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Las Cruces only posted a batting average of .176.
Centennial pushed their record up to 15-5 with the victory, which was their seventh straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Organ Mountain, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-5-1 record this season.
Monday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Centennial hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .316. However, it's not like Organ Mountain struggles in that department as they've averaged .353. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Centennial came up short against Organ Mountain when the teams last played back in April of 2024, falling 9-4. Can the Hawks avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
