The Hardaway Hawks will square off against the Manchester Blue Devils at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Hardaway will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each contest than the last.
On Friday, everything went Hardaway's way against Sumter County as Hardaway made off with a 17-6 win. The Hawks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by ten runs or more this season.
Tristan Jackson was incredible, going 1-for-2 with four stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Christian Eleby, who scored a run and stole Four bases. while going 2-for-4.
Hardaway was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .462. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sumter County only posted a batting average of .227.
Meanwhile, Manchester was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They lost 13-1 to Bowdon. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since February 13, 2018, but that streak is no more.
Manchester saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jayden Hodo, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Qua Buckley also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Manchester's loss dropped their record down to 1-9-1. As for Hardaway, their victory bumped their record up to 9-4.
Manchester's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Hardaway hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .333. It's a different story for Manchester, though, as they've only averaged .211. Will they be able to contain Hardaway's hitters?
Hardaway skirted past Manchester 7-5 in their previous meeting back in February of 2022. Does Hardaway have another victory up their sleeve, or will Manchester turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
