The Wirt County Tigers will challenge the Webster County Highlanders at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Wirt County has three straight victories, Webster County has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Wirt County barely beat Calhoun the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Tigers blew past the Red Devils 8-1 on Tuesday. Considering the Tigers have won three contests by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Jakob Moore made a big impact no matter where he played. He struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Moore was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Trenton Watson was incredible, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 3-for-4. Wyatt Boice was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases.
Meanwhile, Webster County came up short against Wahama on Tuesday, falling 11-1. The game marked the Highlanders' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
Webster County saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Joston Lewis, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base. Hunter Skidmore also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Webster County's loss dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Wirt County, their win bumped their record up to 6-2.
Thursday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Wirt County hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .329. However, it's not like Webster County struggles in that department as they've averaged .341. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Wirt County was able to grind out a solid victory over Webster County when the teams last played back in March, winning 9-5. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Highlanders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.