The Desert Ridge Jaguars will head out on the road to face off against the Xavier College Prep Gators at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Desert Ridge is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They never let Cibola onto the board and left with a 17-0 win. Desert Ridge's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Cierra Smith was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Smith was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, Brooklyn Parks was a standout: she fired off four doubles, four RBI, and a run while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Halle Davis, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and a stolen base.
Meanwhile, Xavier College Prep faced Hamilton in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Monday. Xavier College Prep came out on top in a nail-biter against Hamilton and snuck past 4-2. Winning may never get old, but Xavier College Prep sure is getting used to it with their third in a row.
Like Desert Ridge, Xavier College Prep also got a great game from a two-way player: Angie Falls. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Falls has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than six innings in five consecutive pitching appearances. Falls was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Lauren Putz was excellent, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Desert Ridge's record is now 9-19. As for Xavier College Prep, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 14 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 23-4-1 record this season.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Desert Ridge hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Xavier College Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.1. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Desert Ridge might still be hurting after the 11-0 defeat they got from Xavier College Prep in their previous meeting back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Falls, who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out 11 over six innings pitched. Now that Desert Ridge knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
