After four games on the road, Cherry Creek is heading back home. They will take on the Legend Titans at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Cherry Creek's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Legend's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Last Saturday, it was close, but Cherry Creek sidestepped Fullerton for a 3-2 win. That's two games straight that Cherry Creek has won by just one run.
Blake Maynard looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (he also didn't allow any walks).
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Joel Gibas, who went 1-for-2 with a home run. Brayden Yasuzawa was another key contributor, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Legend's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They fell just short of Valor Christian by a score of 9-8. Legend has not had much luck with Valor Christian recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Legend also got a good showing from Tyler Houston, who struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned run off one hit.
On the hitting side, Isiah Berard was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Silas Meuli, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Even though they lost, Legend didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 12 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Cherry Creek's victory bumped their record up to 3-1-2. As for Legend, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 3-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cherry Creek has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Legend struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Cherry Creek was able to grind out a solid win over Legend when the teams last played back in March of 2023, winning 11-7. Will Cherry Creek repeat their success, or does Legend have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
