The Western Panthers will challenge the Delta Eagles on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Western is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Peru a 10-0 shutout. Winning may never get old, but the Panthers sure are getting used to it with their seventh in a row.
Meanwhile, Delta put their dominant pitchers on display in the team's third consecutive shutout on Monday. They blew past Hamilton Heights 13-0.
Zane Cline made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out nine over four innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in nine consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
In other batting news, Delta let Everrett Linn and Chase Ritchie run wild. Linn got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one triple, two RBI, and one run, while Ritchie got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs and two RBI. Brady Williams was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two runs and one RBI.
Delta was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .455. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .300 or higher in five consecutive contests.
Delta has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 14 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.1 runs over those games. As for Western, their record now sits at 26-4.
Western took their win against Delta in their previous meeting back in June of 2016 by a conclusive 15-4 score. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
