Queen Creek is on a five-game streak of home wins, while Pinnacle is on a eight-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Queen Creek Bulldogs will take on the Pinnacle Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Queen Creek is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: O'Connor, who was ranked tenth in their home state at the time (Queen Creek was ranked first). Queen Creek blew past O'Connor 8-2. Eight seems to be a good number for Queen Creek as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Jenae Berry spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on four hits and racked up 11 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Queen Creek let Corie Shull and Cecelia Marquez loose on the outfield. Shull scored two runs while going 3-for-4, while Marquez scored two runs while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Makenzi Padilla, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Pinnacle's hitters rose to the challenge against a Bears pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.2 runs allowed on Wednesday. Everything went Pinnacle's way against Basha as Pinnacle made off with a 13-3 win. 13 seems to be a good number for Pinnacle as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Pinnacle also let their pitcher toss all six innings played and she was also dialed-in: Lilly Hamel gave up three runs (all of which were unearned) on six hits.
On the hitting side, Pinnacle got a massive performance out of Christina Meneses, who went 1-for-2 with a home run and four RBI. Torynn Slaughter was another key contributor, scoring two runs while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
Queen Creek has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 16 of their last 17 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 24-4 record this season. As for Pinnacle, their win bumped their record up to 25-4.
Friday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Queen Creek has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .440. However, it's not like Pinnacle struggles in that department as they've averaged .480. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Queen Creek was able to grind out a solid victory over Pinnacle when the teams last played back in March, winning 5-1. Will Queen Creek repeat their success, or does Pinnacle have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
