The Alcorn Central Bears will take on the Hatley Tigers at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Alcorn Central managed to slip by Kossuth the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Bears lost 9-1 to the Aggies on Friday.
Alcorn Central saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jayse Johnson, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, Hatley entered their tilt with Walnut on Friday with three consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with four. They blew past the Wildcats 8-1. The result was nothing new for the Tigers, who have now won ten games by six runs or more so far this season.
Carson Armstrong made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three). He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Kane Wren and Garett Wilkinson did most of the damage at the plate: Wren scored a run while going 2-for-3, while Wilkinson got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two RBI. That's the most hits Wren has posted since back in March. Brody Sloan was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances.
Alcorn Central dropped their record down to 13-12 with the defeat, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Hatley, the victory got them back to even at 13-13.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Alcorn Central has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Hatley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Alcorn Central came out on top in a nail-biter against Hatley in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, sneaking past 3-2. Do the Bears have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Tigers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
