Baseball Game Preview: Poplarville Hornets vs. Bay Tigers

For the second straight game, Poplarville will face off against Bay. Poplarville will host Bay at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Poplarville has three straight wins, Bay has 24 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

On Thursday, Poplarville got the win against Bay by a conclusive 12-2. Considering the Hornets have won six games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.

Luke Sones tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over 4.1 innings pitched. What's more, he gave up only two walks, the fewest he's had since back in February.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Brock Sheppard, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, four RBI, and one stolen base. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024. Ty Keys was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Poplarville always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .528. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bay only posted an OBP of .333.

Poplarville pushed their record up to 12-7 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Bay, their loss dropped their record down to 0-22.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Poplarville has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Bay struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.