The Highland Hawks will venture away from home to challenge the Verrado Vipers at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Highland will come into the matchup with an undefeated record on the line.
Highland's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They were the clear victors by an 11-0 margin over Deer Valley. Fans of the Hawks have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 6+ runs.
Colton Shreeve looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 11 over four innings pitched.
At the plate, Diego Rivas was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Gage Tarwater also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Highland was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .417. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .308 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, Verrado earned an 8-4 victory over Coconino on Thursday. The Vipers haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Sebastian Lehr looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, Verrado got a massive performance out of Cameron Tichenor, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run and one stolen base. Those three hits gave Tichenor a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Cole Cassidy, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, one run, and one RBI.
Highland's record now sits at 4-0. As for Verrado, their record is now 2-0-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Highland has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Verrado struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Highland was able to grind out a solid victory over Verrado in their previous matchup back in February of 2025, winning 11-7. Will the Hawks repeat their success, or do the Vipers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
