Baseball Game Preview: Tuscaloosa Academy Knights vs. Leeds Greenwave

The Tuscaloosa Academy Knights will face off against the Leeds Greenwave at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Tuscaloosa Academy took a six-run loss the last time they faced off against Bibb County, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Knights never let the Choctaws get on the board and left with a 2-0 win on Thursday.

Not much got past Harwood Beeker, who gave up just two hits to keep Bibb County off the board. Beeker has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Tuscaloosa Academy saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ellis Hamiter, who went 1-for-2 with one double.

Tuscaloosa Academy hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least three batters in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Leeds, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They walked away with an 8-4 victory over John Carroll Catholic on Thursday.

Gavin S Howard looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched.

On the hitting side, Leeds let Graham Gulock and Grayson Ford run wild. Gulock scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4, while Ford scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. That's the most runs Ford has posted since back in February.

Leeds' win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-10. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Tuscaloosa Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 10-17 record this season.