The Shadow Mountain Matadors will venture away from home to face off against the Paradise Valley Trojans at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Shadow Mountain hasn't scored more than a single run for three games straight, a trend the squad is eager to reverse.
Shadow Mountain fell victim to Greenway and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They came up short against the Demons, falling 8-0.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Paradise Valley). They were the clear victors by a 22-1 margin over North on Thursday. With that victory, the Trojans brought their scoring average up to 6.1 runs per game.
Jordy Nelson was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Paradise Valley is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 6-7 otherwise. Nelson was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in hits (two).
In other batting news, Tadeo Salinas was a standout: he scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Drew England, who scored three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Paradise Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .698. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Shadow Mountain's loss dropped their record down to 6-9-1. As for Paradise Valley, the win got them back to even at 8-8.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Shadow Mountain has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.1 hits per game. However, it's not like Paradise Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.4 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Shadow Mountain skirted past Paradise Valley 12-11 when the teams last played back in March of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Matadors since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
