The Durant Cougars will be playing at home against the Jefferson Dragons at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Durant: 2.8, Jefferson: 2.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
In what's become a running theme this season, Durant gave their fans yet another huge win on Tuesday. They blew past Riverview 17-7. The victory was familiar territory for Durant who now have three in a row.
Durant got a great performance from Gehrig Graham as he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out seven over 5.1 innings pitched. Graham has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single walk in five consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Nick April-Gath and Brantley Hayward did most of the damage at the plate: April-Gath scored three runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-6, while Hayward went 4-for-4 with three doubles and three RBI. April-Gath continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Brody Lissy, who scored two runs and stole four bases.
Meanwhile, Jefferson owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Tuesday. They came out on top against Alonso by a score of 3-0. The win made it back-to-back victories for Jefferson.
Michael Marroquin tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 6.1 innings pitched.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Alliuq Troupe, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Cameron Copple was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Durant has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-3 record this season. As for Jefferson, their win bumped their record up to 13-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Durant has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Jefferson struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Durant skirted past Jefferson 4-3 in their previous matchup back in March of 2023. Does Durant have another victory up their sleeve, or will Jefferson turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
