The Verrado Vipers will head out on the road to face off against the Cactus Shadows Falcons at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. The last five games Verrado has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
On Thursday, it was a hard-fought match, but Verrado had to settle for a 6-5 defeat against Canyon View. Verrado has struggled against Canyon View recently, as their matchup on Thursday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Braxton Bjur spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered four earned (and two unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Verrado saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ryan Beaumont, who scored a run while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Nolan Raissle, who scored a run while going 1-for-1.
Meanwhile, Cactus Shadows fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Chaparral on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Firebirds by a score of 7-5. That's two games in a row now that Cactus Shadows has lost by exactly two runs.
Cactus Shadows also got a good showing from Dallas Dunn, who pitched two innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits.
On the hitting side, Evan Hanish and Hawk Licari did some serious damage despite the final result: Hanish went 1-for-3 with a home run, while Licari went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Jack Scully, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Verrado's record now sits at 11-14. As for Cactus Shadows, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 11-13-1 record this season.
Verrado came up short against Cactus Shadows in their previous meeting back in March of 2023, falling 6-2. Can Verrado avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
