The Gallatin County Hawks will face off against the Vienna Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Gallatin County's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Wayne City as they made off with a 15-0 win. With that victory, the Hawks brought their scoring average up to 6.8 runs per game.
Kaden Downen
| 04/09/25 vs Wayne City | 0 |
| 04/01/25 vs Pope County | 1 |
| 03/27/25 @ Galatia/Thompsonville | 2 |
Kaden Downen made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-1.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on James Wood, who fired off two home runs and five RBI while going 2-for-2. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Owen Wargel was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-1.
Gallatin County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .700. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Vienna got the win against Hardin County on Wednesday by a conclusive 15-0.
Like Gallatin County, Vienna also got a great game from a two-way player: Jackson Ethridge. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Ethridge was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Braedon Hurst was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was Grady Waters, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.
Vienna is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.8 runs over those games. As for Gallatin County, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Gallatin County hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Vienna struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Gallatin County was able to grind out a solid win over Vienna when the teams last played back in April of 2019, winning 7-4. Will the Hawks repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
