Benton Central has gone a perfect 7-0 against Tri-County recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Bison will welcome the Cavaliers at 5:30 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Benton Central is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against North Newton on Thursday as they made off with a 9-3 victory. The Bison not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since May 18, 2024 (when they won 15-7).
Nolan Winkler made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Winkler was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI.
Kaydric Tyson
| 04/24/25 vs North Newton | 3 |
| 04/12/25 @ Rensselaer Central | 2 |
| 04/21/25 @ North Newton | 1 |
| 04/16/25 vs Lafayette Central Catholic | 1 |
| 04/15/25 @ Lafayette Central Catholic | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kaydric Tyson, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and two doubles. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Tanner Pitstick, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Benton Central was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .467. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Tri-County had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Thursday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 6-5 W against the Trojans.
Grayson Schneider was excellent, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Drew Foster, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Tri-County pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Benton Central, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Benton Central has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Tri-County struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Benton Central came out on top in a nail-biter against Tri-County in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, sneaking past 5-3. Will the Bison repeat their success, or do the Cavaliers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
