Baseball Game Preview: Benton Tigers vs. Natchitoches Central Chiefs

The Benton Tigers will square off against the Natchitoches Central Chiefs at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Benton barely beat Airline the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Tigers were the clear victors by a 7-1 margin over the Vikings on Wednesday. The victory was familiar territory for the Tigers, who have now won five games in a row.

Meanwhile, Natchitoches Central had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.4 runs) and they went ahead and made it eight on Wednesday. They blew past the Lions 11-1. That's two games straight that the Chiefs have won by exactly ten runs.

Natchitoches Central pushed their record up to 20-8 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Benton, their win bumped their record up to 29-2.

Everything went Benton's way against Natchitoches Central in their previous matchup back in February, as Benton made off with a 10-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.