The Alba-Golden Panthers will head out on the road to challenge the Como-Pickton Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
It was a proper cat-fight when Alba-Golden faced off against Big Sandy on Thursday. The Panthers fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 5-4. The Panthers' defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Mason Smith put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 11 batters over six innings while giving up four earned runs off only two hits. Smith was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.
Smith wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Landon Dunham, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles, one stolen base, and one run. Another was Brett Sutton, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and one run.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Como-Pickton, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They walked away with a 6-1 victory over Martins Mill on Thursday.
Like Alba-Golden, Como-Pickton also got a great game from a two-way player: DANE OUD. He struck out 14 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. OUD has become a key player for Como-Pickton: the team is undefeated when he posts at least eight strikeouts, but 6-13 otherwise. OUD was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one run and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on JEREMY FLOWERS, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and two doubles. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. CRISTIAN MUNOZ was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI and one double.
Como-Pickton pushed their record up to 9-13 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.8 runs on average over those games. As for Alba-Golden, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 13-7.
Alba-Golden took their win against Como-Pickton in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 14-2 score. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
