The Mena Bearcats are taking a road trip to face off against the Pottsville Apaches at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Mena sitting on 11 straight victories and Pottsville on three.
On Monday, Mena got the win against Dardanelle by a conclusive 10-3. The Bearcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight contests by seven runs or more this season.
Addison Thomas made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits (and not a single walk). Those six strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
Laynie Powell
| 04/14/25 @ Dardanelle | 5 |
| 04/01/25 @ Waldron | 4 |
| 04/11/25 @ Clarksville | 3 |
| 03/10/25 vs Paris | 3 |
| 03/18/25 vs Clarksville | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Laynie Powell, who went 2-for-3 with five RBI, one run, and one double. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high.
Meanwhile, Pottsville put their dominant pitcher on display in the team's third consecutive shutout on Friday. They never let Dardanelle get on the board and left with a 12-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Apaches, who have now won seven games by six runs or more so far this season.
Like Mena, Pottsville also got a great game from a two-way player: Addy Wilmoth. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Wilmoth has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Madison Kellar and Gavreen Sarai did most of the damage at the plate: Kellar went 3-for-4 with one home run and three RBI, while Sarai went 2-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. Kellar has been hot, having posted at least one home run the last seven times she's played. Another player making a difference was Madison Motley, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Pottsville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in three consecutive matchups.
Mena pushed their record up to 11-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.0 runs over those games. As for Pottsville, their record is now 11-5.
Tuesday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Mena hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .344. However, it's not like Pottsville struggles in that department as they've averaged .313. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Mena came out on top in a nail-biter against Pottsville in their previous matchup back in March, sneaking past 3-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bearcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
