Baseball Game Preview: Owen County Rebels vs. Walton-Verona Bearcats

Owen County is 2-8 against Walton-Verona since May of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Rebels will head out to square off against the Bearcats at 5:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Walton-Verona will challenge a team with plenty of momentum: Owen County extended their winning streak to five on Saturday. The Rebels never let Gallatin County get on the board and left with a 7-0 victory.

Walton-Verona never got on the board in their matchup on Tuesday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Bracken County on Saturday. They put the hurt on the Polar Bears with a sharp 15-0 win.

Aidan Kerns was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Walton-Verona is 6-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 10-11 otherwise. Kerns was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.

In other batting news, Walton-Verona let Tristan Wills and Tanner Watkins run wild. Wills got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Watkins got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Those three runs gave Wills a new career-high. Will Hurles was another key player, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple and one run.

Walton-Verona always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .600. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bracken County only posted an OBP of .250.

Owen County's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-6. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Walton-Verona, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-12 record this season.

Owen County couldn't quite get it done against Walton-Verona in their previous matchup back in April as they fell 6-1. Can the Rebels avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.