Wendell and Malad are an even 3-3 against one another since May of 2015, but likely not for long. The Wendell Trojans will head out on the road to face off against the Malad Dragons at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Wendell's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They put the hurt on Declo with a sharp 10-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for Wendell.
The result came thanks to Cooper Jones's shutout, as he gave up just three hits and racked up eight Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jaxon Mattix, who went 3-for-3 with three RBI, a triple, and a run. Another player making a difference was Alex Hirai, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Malad made easy work of Firth on Friday and carried off a 13-3 win. With that victory, Malad brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Brady Showell spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on five hits and racked up 13 Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Ryan Hubbard was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Timmy Jensen, who scored two runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Wendell's win bumped their record up to 11-4-1. As for Malad, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 10-6 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Wendell has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Malad struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Wendell beat Malad 11-8 in their previous matchup last Friday. The rematch might be a little tougher for Wendell since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps