Pinnacle is 2-8 against Hamilton since March of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Pioneers will head out on the road to challenge the Huskies at 4:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Pinnacle sitting on nine straight victories and Hamilton on three.
Pinnacle is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Highland, who was ranked 16th at the time (Pinnacle was ranked ninth). The Pioneers had just enough and edged out the Hawks 2-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Pioneers have posted since March 3rd.
Highland's batters probably weren't too happy with Kodi Crabtree, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 13 Ks (she gave up a single walk).
At the plate, Torynn Slaughter was incredible, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with one home run. Payton Crank was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and one run.
Meanwhile, Hamilton got the win against Shadow Ridge on Saturday by a conclusive 8-1. The Huskies might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 15 games by six runs or more this season.
Liliana Russo tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit over six innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Amanda Benites, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Megan VanDenburgh, who went 1-for-3 with one home run.
Hamilton pushed their record up to 22-8-1 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.4 runs over those games. As for Pinnacle, their record now sits at 16-6-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Pinnacle hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Hamilton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Pinnacle might still be hurting after the 10-2 loss they got from Hamilton in their previous matchup back in March. Can the Pioneers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
