The Madera Coyotes will face off against the Liberty Patriots at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Madera barely beat Golden Valley the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Madera never let Golden Valley get on the board and left with an 11-0 win on Friday. The victory continues a trend for the Coyotes in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now won three in a row.
Kearney Opfergelt was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Opfergelt was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
In other pitching news, Jayleen Gutknecht looked comfortable as she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
Back at the plate, Sadie Gonzalez was incredible, going 1-for-2 with one home run and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Destinee Avila, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Liberty put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They put the hurt on Independence with a sharp 6-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won three games by six runs or more so far this season.
Not much got past Rebecca Calvin, who gave up just two hits and racked up seven Ks to keep Independence off the board. The dominant performance also gave Calvin a new career-low in earned runs (zero).
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Lina Gonzalez, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March of 2024. Claire Williams was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Liberty was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .391. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .391 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.
Madera's victory bumped their record up to 2-0. As for Liberty, their win bumped their record up to 4-0.
Madera skirted past Liberty 5-4 when the teams last played back in April of 2022. Will Madera repeat their success, or does Liberty have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
