The Picayune Maroon Tide will head out to challenge the Poplarville Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Picayune's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs in their last five contests.
Picayune took a 12-run defeat the last time they faced off against St. Patrick, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. Picayune narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past St. Patrick 10-9.
Landon Franklin made a splash no matter where he played. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in February of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and one double. That double marked the first that he hit this season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cooper Moreaux, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Justin Stockstill also deserves some recognition as he stole his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Poplarville won against Stone on Thursday with 12 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Saturday. Poplarville beat Perry Central by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 12-4. The win continues a trend for the Hornets in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won six in a row.
Jeremiah Moss and Brayden Lee did most of the damage at the plate: Moss went 3-for-4 with one home run and three RBI, while Lee scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Lee has been hot recently, having also posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Brock Sheppard, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Poplarville always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .525. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.
Picayune pushed their record up to 7-1 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Poplarville, their record is now 7-2.
Both Picayune and Poplarville just can't seem to miss. Picayune has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.1 hits per game. However, it's not like Poplarville struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 3.8 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Picayune's way against Poplarville in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, as Picayune made off with a 15-0 win. Will Picayune repeat their success, or does Poplarville have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
