The Amarillo Sandies will head out to square off against the Lubbock-Cooper Pirates at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Amarillo comes in on three and Lubbock-Cooper on 16.
Last Friday, Amarillo was able to grind out a solid win over Monterey, taking the game 11-7.
Mykaela Samuels made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 18 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and one double.
In other batting news, Brianna Cloud was excellent, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and one double. Braylee Shuffield was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Amarillo was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .414. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .360 or higher in three consecutive contests.
Monterey typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday Lubbock-Cooper proved too difficult a challenge. They blew past the Plainsmen 15-7. The Pirates might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 19 games by seven runs or more this season.
Lubbock-Cooper let Addison Gunset and Tatum Southard run wild. Gunset got on base in four of her five plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and four RBI, while Southard went 2-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. That's the most runs Gunset has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Lydia Pesterfield, who scored two runs while going 3-for-5.
Lubbock-Cooper's victory was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 24-4. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Amarillo, their record now sits at 22-8-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Amarillo hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.9 home runs per game. However, it's not like Lubbock-Cooper struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Amarillo suffered a grim 13-1 defeat to Lubbock-Cooper when the teams last played back in March. Can the Sandies avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
