Baseball Game Preview: Willard Tigers vs. Smith-Cotton Tigers

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Previous 5 Games

04/17/25 - Neutral	17-3 W
04/28/23 - Away	10-0 W
04/29/22 - Home	10-4 W
04/15/22 - Neutral	10-4 W
04/30/21 - Away	16-2 W

Willard is a perfect 5-0 against Smith-Cotton since April of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. Willard will host Smith-Cotton at 5:00 p.m. Willard's pitching crew has only allowed 2.8 runs per game this season, so Smith-Cotton's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Willard fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against Neosho on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 3-2. The Tigers' defeat signaled the end of their eight-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Smith-Cotton faced off against Blue Springs on Thursday. The Tigers came up short against the Wildcats, falling 18-9. Even though they lost, the Tigers' still made a splash at the plate and bumped their average scoring up to 6.1 runs per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).

Smith-Cotton got a massive performance out of Kendall Hagedorn, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Cooper Woolery was another key player, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.

Smith-Cotton's loss dropped their record down to 14-13. As for Willard, their defeat dropped their record down to 30-5.

Everything went Willard's way against Smith-Cotton in their previous matchup two weeks ago, as Willard made off with a 17-3 win. Does Willard have another victory up their sleeve, or will Smith-Cotton turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.