Baseball Game Preview: North Putnam Cougars vs. Southmont Mounties

The North Putnam Cougars will head out to face off against the Southmont Mounties at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

North Putnam can't be too happy about their upcoming road contest considering what happened when they opened their season away from home on Tuesday. They fell 7-3 to North Montgomery. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

North Putnam saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Sam Wendt, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Alec McKenzie was another, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.

Southmont not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since May 3, 2024. They blew past Covington 11-3. Surprisingly, this marked the fourth straight game that the away team has come away the victor.

Gunnar Shirk and Phisher Benge made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, Shirk didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Meanwhile, Benge tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Those eight strikeouts gave Shirk a new career-high. At bat, Shirk scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-4, while Benge scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.

In other batting news, Dean McGaughey was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.