The Stewarts Creek Red Hawks will square off against the Smith County Owls at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Stewarts Creek is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Overton 17-10 on Thursday. The win continues a trend for the Red Hawks in their matchups with the Bobcats: they've now won four in a row.
Micah Raybon looked comfortable as he tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two hits in five consecutive appearances.
Shawn Rhodes
| 04/17/25 @ Overton | 2 |
| 04/09/25 @ LaVergne | 2 |
| 03/27/25 vs Rockvale | 2 |
| 03/14/25 vs Ensworth | 2 |
| 03/13/25 vs Northwest | 2 |
| + 9 more games |
On the hitting side, Shawn Rhodes was a standout: he got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. He has become a key player for Stewarts Creek: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 12-13 otherwise. Ben Bryant was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Stewarts Creek was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. The last time their batting average was this high was in their last 11 games.
Meanwhile, Smith County never let their opponents score on Thursday. They were the clear victors by an 18-0 margin over Monterey. Considering the Owls have won seven matchups by more than eight runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Jacob Lapham made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Lapham was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with three runs, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Bennett Gammon was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Walker Hackett, who went 2-for-3 with five RBI, two doubles, and one run.
Smith County's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-4. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Stewarts Creek, their victory bumped their record up to 17-13.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Stewarts Creek has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Smith County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
