The Benton Central Bison will head out on the road to face off against the Lebanon Tigers at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Benton Central has struggled recently with six losses in a row, while Lebanon will arrive with four straight wins.
Benton Central lost 13-2 to Rensselaer Central on Saturday. That's two games in a row now that the Bison have lost by exactly 11 runs.
Benton Central saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Julianna Sibray, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lebanon). They never let Lafayette Central Catholic get on the board and left with a 22-0 victory on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Tigers, who have now won 12 matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Krryn Miller made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. She was even better at the plate, going 3-for-4 with six RBI, two triples, and three runs. Those two triples gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Addy Zell, who went 3-for-4 with four runs, two triples, and five RBI. That's the most triples she has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Miley Wilhoite, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one double.
Lebanon always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .725. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lafayette Central Catholic only posted an OBP of .111.
Lebanon pushed their record up to 16-7 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.0 runs over those games. As for Benton Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-14.
Benton Central might still be hurting after the 10-0 loss they got from Lebanon when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can the Bison avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
