The Palo Verde Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Liberty Patriots at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Palo Verde is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 9 runs per game this season.
Palo Verde is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Liberty, who was ranked 17th in their home state at the time (Palo Verde was ranked fifth). Palo Verde fell just short of Liberty by a score of 6-5 on Wednesday.
Drew Kaplan put in work while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out six batters over 3.1 innings while giving up no earned run off one hit (and only one walk). Kaplan has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Kaplan was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
In other pitching news, Mayson Reichartz was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out eight batters over 5.2 innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, Jace Jefferies was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing four bases while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Tanner Johns, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
Even though they lost, Palo Verde didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 14 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Liberty only tossed ten.
Palo Verde has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 15-10 record this season. As for Liberty, the victory got them back to even at 13-13.
Friday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Palo Verde has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .455. However, it's not like Liberty struggles in that department as they've averaged .445. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
