The Claxton Tigers will take on the Bryan County Redskins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
On Wednesday, Claxton made easy work of Savannah and carried off a 20-4 victory. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Bluejackets recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.
Preston Waters looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits.
On the hitting side, Claxton's victory was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Cam Whitfield, who scored two runs and stole Four bases. while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. With that strong performance, Whitfield is now averaging an impressive 1.1 stolen bases per game.
Claxton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .769. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Bryan County never let their opponents score on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Claxton with a sharp 14-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Redskins, who have now won five matchups by 11 runs or more so far this season.
Eli Koskela was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Bryan County is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 4-6 otherwise. Koskela was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
In other batting news, Gunner Ennis and Cooper Ennis did most of the damage at the plate: Gunner went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs, while Cooper scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-1. Cooper is becoming a predictor of Bryan County's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 4-6 when he doesn't). Keller Groover was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Bryan County is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. Claxton's victory bumped their record up to 2-8.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Claxton has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Bryan County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Claxton suffered a grim 14-0 defeat to Bryan County in their previous matchup on Tuesday. Will Claxton have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
