The Valley Christian Trojans will challenge the Snowflake Lobos at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Snowflake will be up against a hot Valley Christian team: the squad just extended their winning streak to five. Everything went the Trojans' way against Apache Junction on Thursday as they made off with an 11-1 win. That's two games straight that the Trojans have won by exactly ten runs.
Carson Grier was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb Danzeisen, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Valley Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .559. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Apache Junction only posted an OBP of .211.
Meanwhile, Snowflake can bid farewell to their three-game losing streak thanks to their game on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Winslow with a sharp 16-3 victory. The Lobos not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since March 22nd.
Kyler Matthews made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 14 batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Those 14 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Snowflake let Skip Bawden and Aaden Coor run wild. Bawden scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances, while Coor scored two runs while going 5-for-5. That's the most runs Bawden has posted since back in March. Gavin Rausch was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
Valley Christian's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-2. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Snowflake, their win bumped their record up to 11-5.
Friday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Valley Christian hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .356. However, it's not like Snowflake struggles in that department as they've averaged .363. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Valley Christian skirted past Snowflake 7-6 in their previous meeting back in May of 2022. Will the Trojans repeat their success, or do the Lobos have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
