Montezuma-Cortez is 0-4 against Grand Junction Central since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Montezuma-Cortez Panthers will challenge the Grand Junction Central Warriors at 11:00 a.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Friday.
Montezuma-Cortez put the finishing touches on their third blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They never let Roaring Fork onto the board and left with an 11-0 win. While fans of Montezuma-Cortez might be used to big wins, the 11-run margin marked the team's biggest victory yet this season.
Seth Oakes tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 4.1 innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Bobby Likes came in to relieve Oakes and was airtight, giving up no runs, hits or walks in his 2.2 innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Montezuma-Cortez let Darren Daves and Cory Carver loose on the outfield. Daves scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3, while Carver went 1-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI. Daves is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last four games he's played. Parker Conrad was another key contributor, scoring three runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Grand Junction Central scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Saturday. Everything went their way against Grand Valley as Grand Junction Central made off with a 19-1 win. The victory was just what Grand Junction Central needed coming off of a 12-2 defeat in their prior game.
Alex Pinedo made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing an inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also didn't allow any walks). Pinedo was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Kaden Guerrieri was incredible, scoring five runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Dayton Timbreza, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and an RBI.
The win got Montezuma-Cortez back to even at 5-5. As for Grand Junction Central, their victory bumped their record up to 3-5.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Montezuma-Cortez has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Grand Junction Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.6. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Montezuma-Cortez might still be hurting after the 14-4 loss they got from Grand Junction Central in their previous meeting back in May of 2016. Thankfully for Montezuma-Cortez, Jake Strickland (who struck out six batters over 6.2 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
