The North Sanpete Hawks will take on the Maple Mountain Golden Eagles in a tournament on Saturday. North Sanpete knows how to get runs on the board -- the squad has finished with ten runs or more in their past three contests -- so hopefully Maple Mountain likes a good challenge.
16 must be North Sanpete's lucky number: they beat Delta with that score not once but twice on Friday. The Hawks put the hurt on the Rabbits with a sharp 16-3 win. Considering the Hawks have won eight matches by more than six runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
North Sanpete got a great performance from Annie Madsen as she pitched 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits.
On the hitting side, North Sanpete let Mylee Cook and Shea Rawlinson run wild. Cook scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Rawlinson scored two runs while going 2-for-3. That's the most runs Rawlinson has posted since back in March. Autumn Oldroyd was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
North Sanpete was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .409. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .371 or higher in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Maple Mountain suffered their biggest defeat since May 16, 2024 on Thursday. They lost 13-2 to Springville. The Golden Eagles have struggled against the Red Devils recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost meeting.
Izzie Groneman was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one home run.
North Sanpete is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 11-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Maple Mountain, their loss dropped their record down to 10-4.
Maple Mountain's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: North Sanpete has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.8 hits per game. It's a different story for Maple Mountain, though, as they've been averaging 9.1 hits. Given North Sanpete's sizable advantage in that area, the Golden Eagles will need to find a way to close that gap.
North Sanpete took their win against Maple Mountain in their previous matchup back in March of 2023 by a conclusive 10-3 score. Do the Hawks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Golden Eagles turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
