The Nuview Bridge Knights are taking a road trip to square off against the Cheyenne Desert Shields at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Nuview Bridge's pitching crew has only allowed three runs per game this season, so Cheyenne's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Nuview Bridge came into this matchup off a tough seven-run loss on Tuesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Virgin Valley by a score of 2-0 on Wednesday. The game marked the first time this season in which the Knights were not able to get on the board.
Nuview Bridge saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ethen Rivera, who went 1-for-2 with one double.
Meanwhile, Cheyenne won against Cimarron-Memorial on Thursday with 16 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. The Desert Shields were the clear victors by a 16-1 margin over Desert Pines. Considering the Desert Shields have won ten contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Taven Thaker made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with three runs and one RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Raymundo Chevalier, who fired off two home runs, eight RBI, and three runs while going 3-for-4. That's the most hits he has posted since back in February. The team also got some help courtesy of Tapa Gamoras, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs.
Cheyenne was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .474. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .367 or higher in three consecutive matchups.
Cheyenne is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.9 runs over those games. As for Nuview Bridge, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 10-5-1.
Thursday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Nuview Bridge has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .442. However, it's not like Cheyenne struggles in that department as they've averaged .448. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
