The Kirbyville Wildcats are taking a road trip to take on the Liberty Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Kirbyville 3, Liberty 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Tuesday, Kirbyville needed a bit of extra time to put away Kountze. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Lions 6-5. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Wildcats.
David Fussell made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 5.1 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, getting on base in five of his six plate appearances with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Cooper Murphy was excellent, going 2-for-6 with three stolen bases and two runs. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Friday as neither Liberty nor Lumberton made it on the board until the fifth inning. The Panthers sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 win over the Raiders. That's two games straight that the Panthers have won by just one run.
Like Kirbyville, Liberty also got a great game from a two-way player: Casper Eckols. On the mound, he pitched five innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. Eckols was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with two stolen bases and one run.
Eckols wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Grahm Pavliska, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Liberty hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in five consecutive contests.
Liberty is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-10-1 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Kirbyville, they pushed their record up to 20-6 with the win, which was their third straight on the road.
Kirbyville's speedy runners might be the difference in Monday's game. The Wildcats have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Liberty, though, as they've been averaging only 1.2 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Kirbyville continue to outrun the ball? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
