The Overton Bobcats will head out to square off against the Antioch Bears at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Overton made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Bobcats put the hurt on the Royals with a sharp 19-6 victory on Wednesday. The win was nothing new for the Bobcats as they're now sitting on six straight.
Jailyn Norman
| 04/16/25 @ Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet | 4 |
| 03/21/25 vs Pope John Paul II | 2 |
| 04/30/24 vs East Nashville Magnet | 2 |
| 03/28/25 @ Brentwood Academy | 1 |
| 03/28/24 vs Antioch | 1 |
Jailyn Norman made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (four). She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring four runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Ella Meacham was a standout: she went 2-for-4 with three runs, four RBI, and one double. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. Talitha Winningham was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-4.
Overton hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in ten consecutive games.
Meanwhile, while Antioch put up plenty of runs on Wednesday, the same can't be said for Stratford. The Bears were the clear victors by a 25-0 margin over the Spartans. The Bears' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Like Overton, Antioch also got a great game from a two-way player: Arianna Mitchell. She pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Mitchell was even better at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, two stolen bases, and four RBI. Those stolen bases marked the first that she snagged this season.
In other batting news, Antioch got a massive performance out of Avah Haynie, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and four RBI. That home run marked the first that Haynie launched this season. Another player making a difference was Chiari Batey, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and one triple.
Overton's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-4. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Antioch, their record is now 9-6.
Antioch's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Overton has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Antioch, though, as they've been averaging only 3.3 strikeouts. Will Overton keep running through batters, or will the Bears buck the trend?
Everything went Overton's way against Antioch in their previous meeting on April 1st, as Overton made off with a 15-4 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bobcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
