Paulding County hasn't had much luck against Allatoona recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Paulding County Patriots will take on the Allatoona Buccaneers at 4:00 p.m.
Paulding County is headed into the contest having just suffered their biggest loss since March 27, 2024 on Tuesday. They lost 12-2 to South Paulding. Having soared to a lofty ten runs in the game before, the Patriots couldn't push the score so high this time.
Paulding County got a good showing from Hunter Redden, who pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off five hits. What's more, Redden also gave up only zero earned runs, the fewest he's had since back in March of 2024.
On the hitting side, Paulding County saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Hudson McEntyre, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Allatoona put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They put the hurt on Fannin County with a sharp 10-3 win.
Ben Harrison was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 4-for-4. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in stolen bases. Another player making a difference was Parker Hope, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Allatoona's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 3-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Paulding County, they now have a losing record of 1-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Paulding County has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Allatoona struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Paulding County might still be hurting after the 8-2 defeat they got from Allatoona when the teams last played back in April of 2016. Can Paulding County avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
