Animo City of Champions extended their losing streak (dating back to last season) to 20 on Thursday, dropping their season record down to 0-13 in the process. They came up short against the Shalhevet Firehawks, falling 25-0. The shutout was out of character for the Wildcats seeing as the last time the team failed to score was back in March.
As for Shalhevet, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-11. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-13 Animo City of Champions and 1-13 Compton Early College.
For Shalhevet's part, Liam Putnam made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Putnam has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and one double. Shalhevet is undefeated when Putnam posts two or more runs, but 3-11 otherwise.
In other batting news, Yakov Liberman was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases, five runs, and four RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Shalhevet's success: when he posts at least three hits the team is undefeated (and 4-11 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Ari Elad, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with five runs, three RBI, and one stolen base.
Looking ahead, Animo City of Champions will challenge Compton Early College at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. As for Shalhevet, they will face off against Wiseburn- Da Vinci at 3:00 p.m. on Monday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
