The Palo Verde Panthers will challenge the Green Valley Gators at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Palo Verde is coming into the contest hot, having won their last seven games.
Palo Verde is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Foothill 7-6.
Drew Kaplan made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Kaplan has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. Kaplan was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.
In other pitching news, Hayden Lucibello looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, Barrett Johnson was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double. Another player making a difference was Jace Jefferies, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Green Valley faced Shadow Ridge in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Monday. Green Valley blew past Shadow Ridge 9-2.
Green Valley also got a great performance from Jared Orabuena as he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Caden Kirby, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Isaiah Alba was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Palo Verde's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-10. As for Green Valley, their record now sits at 14-17.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Palo Verde hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Green Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Palo Verde took their victory against Green Valley when the teams last played two weeks ago by a conclusive 9-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Palo Verde since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
