The Germantown Mavericks will head out to challenge the Brandon Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Germantown has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with three straight losses, while Brandon will come in with four straight victories.
Germantown came up into this matchup off a tough seven-run defeat on Saturday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Warren Central by a score of 6-4 on Saturday. The contest marked the Mavericks' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Dylan Everett and Brooks Hardy did some serious damage despite the final result: Everett went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI, while Hardy scored a run while going 2-for-3. What's more, Hardy posted two hits, the most he's had since back in April of 2024.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Brandon). They never let Starkville get on the board and left with a 13-0 win on Saturday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Bulldogs with their most commanding win of the season.
Ty Estridge looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the first time he hasn't allowed a single hit since back in March of 2024.
At the plate, Brandon let Grady Smith and Jay McQueen run wild. Smith scored two runs while going 2-for-2, while McQueen scored two runs while going 3-for-3. Brayson Hall also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Brandon hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts every time they've taken the field this season.
Brandon's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-1. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.9 runs over those games. As for Germantown, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.
Germantown was able to grind out a solid win over Brandon in their previous meeting two weeks ago, winning 7-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for Germantown since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
