Stockton will head out to challenge Lockwood at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Stockton is coming into the game hot, having won their last five games.
Stockton had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the seven-run drubbing they dealt Fair Grove on Tuesday. The Tigers put the hurt on the Eagles with a sharp 9-2 victory. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten contests by seven runs or more this season.
Meanwhile, Lockwood had just enough and edged out Ash Grove 6-4 on Tuesday.
Nik Thieman made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out six batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits. Thieman was also big at the plate, earning two runs and two stolen bases. Lockwood is 6-1 when Thieman posts two or more runs, but 1-7 otherwise.
Thieman wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Landry Ogden, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Ogden has become a key player for Lockwood: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 4-8 otherwise.
Lockwood has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.6 runs on average over those games. As for Stockton, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-3.
Everything went Stockton's way against Lockwood in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as Stockton made off with a 12-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Stockton since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps