The Florala Wildcats will head out on the road to square off against the McKenzie Tigers at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
McKenzie will be up against a hot Florala team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. Everything went the Wildcats' way against W.S. Neal on Thursday as they made off with a 15-5 victory. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won 11 matchups by eight runs or more so far this season.
Paige Musso
| 04/03/25 vs W.S. Neal | 5 |
| 03/20/25 vs Samson | 6 |
| 03/18/25 @ Kinston | 10 |
| 03/11/25 @ W.S. Neal | 11 |
| 03/06/25 @ Greenville | 7 |
| + 3 more games |
Paige Musso and Ella Caraway were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Musso pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Meanwhile, Caraway tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Musso has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in eight consecutive appearances. At bat, Musso went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI, while Caraway scored a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Maci Blount and Aubree Powell did most of the damage at the plate: Blount scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4, while Powell went 2-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Those two stolen bases gave Blount a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Kiley Caine, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Florala was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .581. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .438 or higher in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask McKenzie). They never let Georgiana get on the board and left with a 20-0 win on Tuesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Charissa Bullard was a standout: she scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. Shelby Bennett was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-2.
Florala's win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-2. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for McKenzie, their win ended a seven-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-9.
McKenzie's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. Florala has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for McKenzie, though, as they've been averaging only 3.2 strikeouts. Will Florala keep running through batters, or will the Tigers buck the trend?
Florala took their victory against McKenzie in their previous meeting back in February by a conclusive 12-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
