The Highland Hawks will face off against the Cesar Chavez Champions at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Highland has three straight victories, Cesar Chavez has five straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Highland lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Cibola, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Friday's contest. Highland's pitchers stepped up to hand Cibola a 9-0 shutout on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Hawks, who have now won five games by six runs or more so far this season.
Kennedie Nelson tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 5.1 innings pitched. Furthermore, she didn't allow a single earned run, the first time she has blanked an opponent since back in April of 2024.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Abbie Shellabarger, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most runs she has posted over her last 11 matches. Another player making a difference was Easton Joslin, who scored a run and stole Three bases. while going 3-for-4.
Highland kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cibola only managed six hits.
Meanwhile, Cesar Chavez came up short against St. Bonaventure on Friday, falling 9-2.
Cesar Chavez saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Esmeralda White, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one double. That hit marked the first that White got this season. Jazmen Serna was another, scoring a run while going 1-for-1.
Highland's win was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-6. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Cesar Chavez, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-5.
Cesar Chavez's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Highland hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .351. It's a different story for Cesar Chavez, though, as they've only averaged .138. Will they be able to contain Highland's hitters?
Highland took their victory against Cesar Chavez in their previous meeting back in April of 2022 by a conclusive 9-1. Will Highland repeat their success, or does Cesar Chavez have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
