Baseball Game Preview: Smith County Owls vs. Monterey Wildcats

Smith County is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Monterey is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Owls will welcome the Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Smith County is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.5 runs per game this season.

Smith County will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Saturday, then bounced right back against York Institute on Wednesday. The Owls put the hurt on the Dragons with a sharp 11-1 win. The Owls haven't had any issues with the Dragons recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.

Riley Martin was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March of 2024. Wyatt Claywell was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-2.

Smith County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .630. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as York Institute only posted an OBP of .458.

Meanwhile, Monterey hadn't done well against Watertown recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The Wildcats sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-2 win over the Purple Tigers. The game was the first time the Wildcats have beaten the Purple Tigers on their field since May 4, 2017.

The team relied heavily on Lawson Cantrell, who went 1-for-2 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. That triple marked the first that he hit this season.

Monterey is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Smith County, their win bumped their record up to 14-4.

Smith County took their victory against Monterey when the teams last played last Tuesday by a conclusive 12-2 score. Do the Owls have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.