Memphis hasn't had much luck against Clarendon recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Cyclones will face off against the Broncos at 4:30 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Tuesday, Memphis earned a 5-2 victory over Floydada.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Clarendon). They were the clear victors by a 22-15 margin over Lockney on Tuesday. The Broncos haven't had any issues with the Longhorns recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Mason Sims and Braylon Rice were a major factor no matter where they played. On the mound, Sims pitched two innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Meanwhile, Rice didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. Sims also tossed a walk, which is notable because Clarendon is 3-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 6-7 otherwise. At the plate, Sims scored four runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of his six plate appearances, while Rice went 3-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple. Those three stolen bases gave Sims a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Shane Hagood, who went 3-for-6 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. He has become a key player for Clarendon: the team is undefeated when he posts at least one home run, but 5-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Mason Allred, who scored three runs while going 1-for-4.
Clarendon pushed their record up to 9-8 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 16.0 runs over those games. As for Memphis, the victory got them back to even at 6-6.
Memphis couldn't quite finish off Clarendon in their previous matchup two weeks ago and fell 7-5. Can the Cyclones avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
