The Caldwell County Tigers will face off against the Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Caldwell County has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with three straight defeats, while Madisonville-North Hopkins will come in with five straight wins.
Caldwell County's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Tuesday's struggle, when Graves County hitters got past them. The Tigers lost 12-5 to the Eagles on Tuesday. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since April 25, 2022, but that streak is no more.
Kaliana Bender made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one triple and one RBI. That triple marked the first that she has hit this season.
Meanwhile, Madisonville-North Hopkins won against Owensboro Catholic on Monday with nine runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. The Maroons never let Hopkins County Central get on the board and left with a 9-0 victory. The Maroons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight contests by six runs or more this season.
Mackenzie Stoltz was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 14 over seven innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in March. She was also big at the plate, firing off two home runs and four RBI while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Sadie Kirk was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run and four runs. That's the most runs she has posted over her last ten games. Another player making a difference was Nevaeh Lindle, who went 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Madisonville-North Hopkins hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in three consecutive matches.
Madisonville-North Hopkins' win bumped their record up to 13-6. As for Caldwell County, their loss dropped their record down to 9-9.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Caldwell County hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Madisonville-North Hopkins struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
