vs
| 04/02/25 - Away | 7-2 W |
| 04/19/24 - Away | 5-3 W |
| 04/03/24 - Home | 16-3 W |
| 05/09/23 - Home | 7-2 W |
| 04/29/23 - Away | 6-7 L |
| + 5 more games |
Palo Verde is 8-2 against Liberty since March of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Panthers will look to defend their home field against the Patriots at 3:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Palo Verde sitting on 14 straight victories and Liberty on three.
Palo Verde is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Shadow Ridge, who was ranked fifth at the time (Palo Verde was ranked first). The Panthers blew past the Mustangs 13-1 on Wednesday. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matches by nine runs or more this season.
Ava Koenig and Haley Kearnes made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Koenig pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Kearnes pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. At the plate, Koenig went 2-for-3 with one home run and two runs, while Kearnes went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Those two runs gave Koenig a new career-high.
In other batting news, Halle Law was incredible, firing off two home runs, three runs, and three RBI while going 3-for-3. Those two home runs gave her a new career-high. Kayleen Enriquez was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Palo Verde kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Shadow Ridge only managed three hits.
Meanwhile, Liberty got themselves on the board against Bakersfield Christian on Thursday, but Bakersfield Christian never followed suit. They had just enough and edged out the Eagles 1-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Patriots have posted since March 21st.
The result came thanks to Charlotte Crittenden's shutout, as she gave up just six hits.
Palo Verde pushed their record up to 14-0 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Liberty, their victory bumped their record up to 12-4-2.
Liberty's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. Palo Verde has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Liberty, though, as they've been averaging only 2.7 strikeouts. Will Palo Verde keep running through batters, or will the Patriots buck the trend?
Palo Verde was able to grind out a solid win over Liberty in their previous matchup on April 2nd, winning 7-2. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Patriots have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
