The Alcoa Tornadoes will venture away from home to face off against the Maryville Red Rebels at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. Alcoa is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.8 runs per game this season.
Alcoa is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Tennessee's top teams: Gibbs, who was ranked first at the time (Alcoa was ranked sixth). The Tornadoes skirted past the Eagles 5-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Tornadoes.
Makenna McCarter looked comfortable as she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances.
Halle Bailey
| 04/16/25 vs Gibbs | 1 |
| 04/15/25 vs William Blount | 1 |
| 04/12/25 vs Powell | 1 |
On the hitting side, Halle Bailey was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played. Tori Haun was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Alcoa hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least three batters in five consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Maryville fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Powell on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Panthers by a score of 4-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Red Rebels have suffered since March 27th.
Sadie Johnson was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she tossed five innings while giving up just two earned runs off nine hits.
At the plate, Maryville saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Isabella Saunders, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Maryville's loss dropped their record down to 11-8. As for Alcoa, their record is now 22-6-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Alcoa hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Maryville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Alcoa came out on top in a nail-biter against Maryville when the teams last played back in March of 2024, sneaking past 8-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tornadoes since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
