The McMinn Central Chargers will square off against the Roane County Yellowjackets at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
McMinn Central was handed a heart-breaking two-run defeat in their last matchup, but they sure didn't let that happen against Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences on Saturday. The Chargers blew past the Patriots 11-1. The result was nothing new for the Chargers, who have now won six contests by ten runs or more so far this season.
McMinn Central got a great performance from Evan Preston as he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits. The dominant performance also gave Preston a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
On the hitting side, Hunter Rayburn was a standout: he scored three runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March. Ayden Plemons was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Alcoa typically has all the answers at home, but on Friday Roane County proved too difficult a challenge. They put the hurt on the Tornadoes with a sharp 14-6 win. Roane County's victory was all the more impressive since the Tornadoes were averaging only 3.41 runs allowed on the season.
The team relied heavily on Gage Brown, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with six RBI. Another player making a difference was Tyson McAmis, who scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Roane County is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-4-1 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.4 runs over those games. As for McMinn Central, their victory bumped their record up to 12-8.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. McMinn Central has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Roane County struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
McMinn Central skirted past Roane County 6-4 in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Do the Chargers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Yellowjackets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
