The Southmont Mounties will challenge the Parke Heritage Wolves at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Southmont is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They skirted past South Putnam 9-8. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Mounties.
Phisher Benge
| 05/28/25 vs South Putnam | 7 |
| 04/10/25 vs North Putnam | 6 |
| 05/22/25 vs North Montgomery | 5 |
| 04/18/25 vs Fountain Central | 5 |
| 04/24/24 vs Crawfordsville | 4 |
Phisher Benge was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, Caden Miller and Dean McGaughey did most of the damage at the plate: Miller got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI, one run, and one double, while McGaughey went 1-for-5 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. Southmont is 6-3 when McGaughey posts two or more runs, but 0-14 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Eden Hernandez, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
Southmont always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .524. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Parke Heritage waltzed into their match on Wednesday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They were the clear victors by a 6-0 margin over the Cougars. Considering the Wolves have won ten contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
The result came thanks to Jerrid Graves's shutout, as he gave up just a hit.
At the plate, Renn Harper was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one double.
Southmont's record now sits at 6-17. As for Parke Heritage, their record is now 16-8.
Southmont couldn't quite finish off Parke Heritage in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 2-0. Can the Mounties avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
