The Ozark Tigers will hit the road for the first time this season to face off against the Helias Crusaders at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Ozark was handed a six-run defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Thursday. They had just enough and edged out Springdale 5-3.
Cooper Pumphrey tossed a big game, striking out nine batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Hudson Roberts, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. Those RBI were his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Peyton Bullinger, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Ozark lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Helias, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. Everything went their way against Rolla on Wednesday as Helias made off with a 12-2 victory. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Crusaders' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Helias' first win this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Ozark, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Ozark was able to grind out a solid win over Helias in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, winning 11-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ozark since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
