Baseball Game Preview: Smackover Buckaroos vs. Ashdown Panthers

The Smackover Buckaroos are taking a road trip to face off against the Ashdown Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Smackover took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They walked away with an 11-7 victory over Fouke. The win continues a trend for the Buckaroos in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won three in a row.

Meanwhile, Ashdown waltzed into their match on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-2 victory over the Dragons. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Panthers have posted since March 22nd.

Walt Jones spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on six hits and racked up 11 Ks.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Riley Williamson, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two stolen bases and two RBI. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Wood Walton, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.

Ashdown pushed their record up to 14-7 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for Smackover, their victory bumped their record up to 11-6.

Smackover suffered a grim 12-4 defeat to Ashdown in their previous matchup back in April of 2019. Can the Buckaroos avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.