The Maconaquah Braves will take on the Southwood Knights at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. The timing is sure in Maconaquah's favor as the squad sits on three straight wins at home while Southwood has been banged up by 12 consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.
Maconaquah's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They were the clear victors by a 13-0 margin over Taylor. The contest marked the Braves' most dominant victory of the season.
Deven Mitchell made a splash while hitting and pitching. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Mitchell was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April.
In other pitching news, Jack Gochenhour looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Back at the plate, Caiden Richards was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Bennett Isenburg, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Maconaquah always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .581. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Southwood couldn't beat Eastern on Friday even though they stacked four runs on them in the third inning. The Knights lost 26-7 to the Comets.
Southwood saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Dalton Barney, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Maconaquah is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Southwood, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-13.
Southwood's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. Maconaquah has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Southwood, though, as they've been averaging only 3.1 strikeouts. Will Maconaquah keep running through batters, or will the Knights buck the trend?
Maconaquah beat Southwood 9-4 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Will the Braves repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
