The Hamilton Lions will take on the Strayhorn Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Strayhorn will be up against a hot Hamilton team: the squad just extended their winning streak to seven. The Lions' pitcher stepped up to hand Walnut a 19-0 shutout on Thursday. The Lions' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
The team relied heavily on J.D. Whitaker, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and one triple. Another player making a difference was Seth Welch, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Hamilton was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .667. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Strayhorn made easy work of Falkner on Saturday and carried off a 12-2 win.
Trevor Bateman was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. He has become a key player for Strayhorn: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 6-10 otherwise.
In other batting news, Colton Haskins and Morgan Moore did most of the damage at the plate: Haskins went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double, while Moore went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. Those two stolen bases gave Moore a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Frazier, who got on base in both of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.
Strayhorn's victory bumped their record up to 9-10. As for Hamilton, their win bumped their record up to 21-3.
Strayhorn's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Hamilton hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .343. It's a different story for Strayhorn, though, as they've only averaged .221. Will they be able to contain Hamilton's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
