The Cherokee Trail Cougars will take on the Legend Titans at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Cherokee Trail is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Fort Collins a 10-0 shutout. The victory was nothing new for the Cougars as they're now sitting on eight straight.
Emma Rice made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. Rice was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Isabelle Becker and Sydney Cobb did most of the damage at the plate: Becker went 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Cobb went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run. Peyton Contes was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Cherokee Trail always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .516. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Fort Collins only posted an OBP of .348.
Meanwhile, Legend faced Columbine in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Titans were the clear victors by an 8-1 margin over the Rebels.
Maddie Kessel spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on three hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Caylee Humphrey, who went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Lucy Thompson, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs.
Legend's win bumped their record up to 22-5. As for Cherokee Trail, their victory bumped their record up to 22-4.
Legend's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Cherokee Trail has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Legend, though, as they've been averaging only 4 strikeouts. Will Cherokee Trail keep running through batters, or will the Titans buck the trend?
Cherokee Trail suffered a grim 13-3 defeat to Legend when the teams last played back in September. Can the Cougars avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
