The Anna-Jonesboro Wildcats will face off against the Massac County Patriots at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Anna-Jonesboro's favor as the team sits on four straight wins at home while Massac County has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road.
On Wednesday, Anna-Jonesboro got the win against Benton by a conclusive 17-2. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won 21 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Ruby Yates made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching four innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 19 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jayci Needling, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, six RBI, and two runs. Jayda Shepard was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Anna-Jonesboro was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .600. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in ten consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Massac County lost 11-4 to Murphysboro on Tuesday.
Madelyn Wedeking made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaylee Jones, who went 3-for-4 with one RBI.
Anna-Jonesboro is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games. That's provided a nice bump to their 24-3 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Massac County, their loss dropped their record down to 5-13.
Massac County's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Anna-Jonesboro has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 12.4 hits per game. It's a different story for Massac County, though, as they've been averaging 11.8 hits. Given Anna-Jonesboro's sizable advantage in that area, the Patriots will need to find a way to close that gap.
Anna-Jonesboro took their victory against Massac County in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 17-7 score. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Patriots have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
