The Oak Grove Tigers will challenge the Tuscaloosa Academy Knights at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Oak Grove comes in on 16 and Tuscaloosa Academy on five.
Oak Grove's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 12-0 margin over Fairfield. Considering Oak Grove has won ten contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Wiley Hicks
| 04/01/25 vs Fairfield | 3 |
| 03/19/25 @ Indian Springs | 2 |
| 03/10/25 vs McAdory | 2 |
| 04/01/25 vs Fairfield | 1 |
| 03/25/25 @ Fayetteville | 1 |
The team relied heavily on Wiley Hicks, who scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Brawley Burns, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Oak Grove always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .609. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Tuscaloosa Academy got the win against Isabella on Tuesday by a conclusive 10-0.
Ellis Hamiter was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Tuscaloosa Academy is 2-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 5-15 otherwise. Hamiter was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, Mark Norris was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. Harwood Beeker was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Oak Grove's win was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 20-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.9 runs over those games. As for Tuscaloosa Academy, their win bumped their record up to 7-16.
Oak Grove was able to grind out a solid victory over Tuscaloosa Academy in their previous matchup back in February, winning 8-4. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
