Baseball Preview: Kerens Bobcats vs. Beckville Bearcats
The Kerens Bobcats will be staying on the road on Thursday to face off against the Beckville Bearcats at 4:00 p.m. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (Kerens: 1.2, Beckville: 2.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Kerens is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They never let Linden-Kildare onto the board and left with a 4-0 win. Give Kerens' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's 15th straight shutout.
Kannon Ritchie made a big impact no matter where he played. He kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 13 over 6.1 innings pitched. Ritchie has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive pitching appearances. Ritchie was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Andy Conklin and Adrian Solis did most of the damage at the plate: Conklin got on base in three of his four plate appearances with a triple, a stolen base, and an RBI, while Solis scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, in what's become a running theme this season, Beckville gave their fans yet another huge victory on Friday. They blew past Maud 12-2. The win was familiar territory for Beckville who now have three in a row.
Aiden Brantley spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on three hits and racked up ten Ks.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Coy Stephens, who got on base in all five of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, five RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Coleman Bullock, who went 2-for-5 with two runs, a triple, and an RBI.
Kerens has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 19 of their last 20 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 23-5 record this season. As for Beckville, their victory bumped their record up to 24-3-1.
Thursday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Kerens has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .465. However, it's not like Beckville struggles in that department as they've averaged .463. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Kerens came up short against Beckville in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, falling 3-0. Can Kerens avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
