The Crossett Eagles will venture away from home to take on the Monticello Billies at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Crossett is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.4 runs per game this season.
While Crossett's win against Magnolia wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Eagles skirted past the Panthers 6-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Eagles.
The team relied heavily on Gracie Kilcrease, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that she has hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Beckham Hartley, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Monticello had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it seven on Thursday. They blew past the Lumberjacks 15-5. Considering the Billies have won nine games by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Addi Frazer made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 3.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. Frazer was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, Libby Kingston and Bliss Becker did most of the damage at the plate: Kingston went 1-for-3 with one home run and two runs, while Becker went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs and one RBI. Those three runs gave Becker a new career-high. Ashley Hales was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs and one double.
Monticello lost a few balls and finished the game with five home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Monticello pushed their record up to 14-7 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Crossett, their record is now 18-5.
Crossett suffered a grim 11-0 defeat to Monticello when the teams last played on April 10th. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
