Baseball Game Preview: Keota Lions vs. Canadian Cougars

The Keota Lions will head out to challenge the Canadian Cougars at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Canadian took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Keota, who comes in off a win.

On Monday, Keota got the win against Leflore by a conclusive 15-3. That 12 run margin sets a new team best for the Lions this season.

Kalib West

Runs

04/10/25 @ Webbers Falls	4
04/14/25 @ Leflore	3
03/13/25 @ Webbers Falls	2
03/10/25 @ Arkoma	2
04/01/25 vs Canadian	1

Kalib West made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched five innings while giving up three earned runs off only two hits. West was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of Keota's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 3-1 (and 4-7-1 when he doesn't).

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kaden Decker, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. What's more, he posted two hits, the most he's had since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Beau McKenzie, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.

Keota was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .414. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Canadian duked it out with Braggs on Thursday. The Cougars fell 13-9 to the Wildcats. The Cougars just can't catch a break and have now endured three defeats in a row.

Canadian's loss dropped their record down to 2-10. As for Keota, their record is now 7-8-1.

Keota skirted past Canadian 8-7 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Lions since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.