The Pickens Academy Pirates will venture away from home to square off against the Hubbertville Lions at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Pickens Academy's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Aliceville as Pickens Academy made off with a 15-0 victory. That looming 15-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Pirates yet this season.
Dalton Crowe and Griffin Hudson made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Crowe pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Hudson pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Crowe has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Crowe went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI, while Hudson scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. That's the most hits Crowe has posted since back in February.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Brayden Sansing, who went 1-for-2 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in RBI. Whitt Shirley also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen bases of the season.
Pickens Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .686. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
The home team had won the previous four meetings between Hubbertville and Lynn, and Hubbertville kept the tradition alive. Hubbertville came out on top against Lynn by a score of 6-1 on Thursday. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Lions as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
Cruz Kizzire spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on one hit and racked up nine Ks. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Hubbertville is 3-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 2-5 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Blaize Wakefield was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Hubbertville's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-6. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Pickens Academy, their win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-8.
