The Petal Panthers will take on the Oak Grove Warriors at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Petal has three straight wins, Oak Grove has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Petal is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Pearl get on the board and left with a 20-0 victory on Tuesday. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 matchups by six runs or more this season.
Jaley Weathersby looked comfortable as she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched.
At the plate, Morgan Taylor was incredible, going 1-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April of 2024. Kenleigh Morgan was another key player, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3.
Petal always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pearl only posted an OBP of .000.
Meanwhile, Oak Grove lost 16-2 to Brandon on Tuesday.
Oak Grove saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Abbie Merchant, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Petal's win bumped their record up to 19-7. As for Oak Grove, they now have a losing record of 10-11.
Thursday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Petal hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .323. However, it's not like Oak Grove struggles in that department as they've averaged .320. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Petal's way against Oak Grove when the teams last played two weeks ago, as Petal made off with a 16-1 victory. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Warriors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
