The Stuttgart Ricebirds will venture away from home to challenge the DeWitt Dragons at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Stuttgart is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.
On Thursday, Stuttgart came up short against Wynne and fell 9-4.
Stuttgart saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Hali Watkins, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That home run was Watkins' first of the season. MyKayla Hale was another, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, DeWitt had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Pirates a 15-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Dragons, who have now won six contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
Khloe Llyod made a splash while hitting and pitching. She pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, one run, and one double. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Harley Grammer, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one home run the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Tori Ross, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI.
DeWitt was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .529. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .348 or higher in four consecutive games.
Stuttgart has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 10-8 record this season. As for DeWitt, their record now sits at 8-5.
Stuttgart suffered a grim 28-0 defeat to DeWitt when the teams last played back in March of 2025. Can the Ricebirds avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
