The Skyview Hawks will venture away from home to challenge the Pocatello Thunder at 11:15 a.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Skyview sitting on three straight wins and Pocatello on 14.
Skyview hadn't beaten Bishop Kelly on the road since May 13, 2023 but that history sure didn't bother them on Thursday. The Hawks came out on top against the Knights by a score of 8-3.
Makenna Shamy spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on four hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Lily Bittinger was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two doubles. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in April. Grace Chambers was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three stolen bases, four runs, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Pocatello got themselves on the board against Jerome on Thursday, but Jerome never followed suit. They blew past the Tigers 12-0. The Thunder might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten matchups by seven runs or more this season.
Charlie Naylor made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out ten over four innings pitched. Naylor was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Pocatello let Azlin Bullock and Jordy Snell run wild. Bullock went 1-for-2 with one home run and four RBI, while Snell went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Oakley Hirschi, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one run.
Pocatello kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in 14 consecutive games.
Pocatello pushed their record up to 22-4 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.1 runs on average over those games. As for Skyview, the victory got them back to even at 14-14.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Skyview hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Pocatello struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Skyview skirted past Pocatello 12-10 in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. Do the Hawks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Thunder turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
