Baseball Recap: Viola Takes a Loss

Viola fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Norfork on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Panthers by a score of 10-9. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Panthers this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 9-6 back in March.

Beau Cowgill put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over four innings while giving up three earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk). Cowgill was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with three stolen bases and two runs. Viola is 3-1 when Cowgill posts two or more runs, but 2-17 otherwise.

Jackson Sikes

Stolen Base

04/21/26 vs Norfork	5
04/20/26 @ Omaha	4
03/17/26 vs Omaha	2
03/10/26 @ Mammoth Spring	2
04/06/26 @ Concord	1
+ 1 more games

In other batting news, Jackson Sikes made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 1-for-4 with five stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. He has become a key player for Viola: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 2-17 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Braxton Howell, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.

Viola has been struggling recently as they've lost 15 of their last 17 matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 5-18 record this season. As for Norfork, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-10.

Looking ahead, Viola will square off against Lead Hill at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Tigers have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 9.73 runs per game on average), something the Longhorns will no doubt try to take advantage of. Norfork has already played their next game (against Calico Rock), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.