The Hernando Tigers will face off against the DeSoto Central Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Hernando is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Mississippi's top teams: Lewisburg, who was ranked 20th at the time (Hernando was ranked second). The Tigers' pitcher stepped up to hand the Patriots an 8-0 shutout on Saturday. Winning may never get old, but the Tigers sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
The result came thanks to Haylee Jackson's shutout, as she gave up just eight hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Hernando let Macie Dever Boaz and Olivia Higginbotham run wild. Dever Boaz went 2-for-3 with one home run and one stolen base, while Higginbotham scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-4. What's more, Higginbotham posted three RBI, the most she's had since back in May of 2024. Jayla Sites was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, DeSoto Central waltzed into their game on Monday with eight straight wins... but they left with nine. Everything went their way against the Chargers as they made off with an 11-1 victory.
Makayla Jamison made a splash while hitting and pitching. She pitched 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Jamison was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in two of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Londen Armstrong and Colby Young did most of the damage at the plate: Armstrong scored a run while going 2-for-4, while Young scored a run while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Maddie Hudson, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
DeSoto Central pushed their record up to 22-2 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Hernando, their win bumped their record up to 25-1.
Tuesday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Hernando hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .377. However, it's not like DeSoto Central struggles in that department as they've averaged .378. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Hernando couldn't quite finish off DeSoto Central when the teams last played on Tuesday and fell 2-0. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
