The Basha Bears will head out to face off against the Xavier College Prep Gators at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Basha is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: O'Connor, who was ranked 22nd at the time (Basha was ranked fifth). The Bears put the hurt on the Eagles with a sharp 14-4 victory on Saturday.
Kylee Duffy looked comfortable as she didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 18 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Vaeh Luna and Addi Kimberlin did most of the damage at the plate: Luna went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double, while Kimberlin went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Bella Cadena was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI.
Basha was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .450. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as O'Connor only posted a batting average of .227.
Meanwhile, Xavier College Prep had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it ten on Saturday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Aztecs a 6-0 shutout.
Sydney Root made a splash while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. Root was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and one run.
In other batting news, Makenzie Latvaaho was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double. Another player making a difference was Ashlyn Hackett, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one run.
Basha's record is now 21-6-2. As for Xavier College Prep, their record now sits at 26-4.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Basha has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.5 hits per game. However, it's not like Xavier College Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 3.4 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Basha skirted past Xavier College Prep 5-3 in their previous meeting back in March. Do the Bears have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Gators turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
