Baseball Game Preview: Willow Springs Bears vs. Ava Bears

Willow Springs hasn't had much luck against Ava recently, but that could start to change on Monday. Willow Springs will be playing in front of their home fans against Ava at 4:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Willow Springs sitting on three straight victories and Ava on five.

Willow Springs took a 11-run loss the last time they faced off against Salem, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Bears skirted past the Tigers 5-4. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last six times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

While Ava didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. Everything went their way against Mountain Grove on Thursday as they made off with a 10-2 win. The Bears might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by eight runs or more this season.

Ava pushed their record up to 8-4 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Willow Springs, their victory bumped their record up to 7-4.

Willow Springs might still be hurting after the 14-4 defeat they got from Ava when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will Willow Springs have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.