We've got a battle between Tigers coming up. Neither of those teams managed to put together many runs in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.
Cleburne County is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Valley just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Saturday. They fell 6-2 to the Rams.
Cleburne County got a good showing from Brayden Maduro, who pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Maduro has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
Cade Shubert
| 03/01/25 vs Valley | 1 |
| 02/27/25 @ Randolph County | 2 |
| 02/24/25 vs Woodland | 3 |
| 02/21/25 @ Horseshoe Bend | 1 |
On the hitting side, Cleburne County saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cade Shubert, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base. Shubert is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stole at least one in each of the last four games he's played. Hunter Gore also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, Handley entered their tilt with Woodland on Friday with three consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with four. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Bobcats. The two-run effort marked the Tigers' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Kaleb Powel spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up ten Ks. Those ten strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
Handley's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-1. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Cleburne County, their loss dropped their record down to 6-2.
Handley's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Cleburne County hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .321. It's a different story for Handley, though, as they've only averaged .254. Will they be able to contain Cleburne County's hitters?
Cleburne County skirted past Handley 5-4 in their previous meeting back in February of 2023. Will Cleburne County repeat their success, or does Handley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
