Hernando is on a six-game streak of home wins, while Lewisburg is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Hernando Tigers will take on the Lewisburg Patriots at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Hernando: 3.3, Lewisburg: 2.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Hernando is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Mississippi's top teams: DeSoto Central, who was ranked 20th in their home state at the time (Hernando was ranked 13th). Hernando's pitchers stepped up to hand DeSoto Central a 3-0 shutout on Tuesday.
Haylee Jackson looked comfortable as she struck out six batters over 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits (and not a single walk).
At the plate, Hernando's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Olivia Higginbotham, who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Meanwhile, Lewisburg stacked an 11th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They blew past Southaven 13-0.
Leah Walker and Emma Abrams made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Walker tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Abrams pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 11 consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Walker scored a run while going 2-for-3, while Abrams scored a run while going 1-for-1.
In other batting news, Lewisburg let Anna Etter and Bailee Davis loose on the outfield. Etter went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and a stolen base, while Davis went 1-for-3 with a home run, two stolen bases, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Leona Klaire Stokes, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, a triple, and an RBI.
Hernando has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 21-6 record this season. As for Lewisburg, their victory bumped their record up to 20-5.
Thursday's game will be a test for both team's pitchers. Hernando hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .356. However, it's not like Lewisburg struggles in that department as they've averaged .345. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Hernando might still be hurting after the 6-0 loss they got from Lewisburg when the teams last played last Monday. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Abrams, who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. Now that Hernando knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
