Piedmont Academy hasn't had much luck against Gatewood recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Piedmont Academy Cougars will venture away from home to square off against the Gatewood Gators at 5:30 p.m. One thing working in Piedmont Academy's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs in their last three games.
Piedmont Academy's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Central Fellowship Christian Academy 13-0. The Cougars haven't had any issues with the Lancers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Zach Simmons
| 03/11/25 @ Central Fellowship Christian Academy | 8 |
| 03/27/24 @ Mount de Sales Academy | 6 |
| 05/11/24 @ Edmund Burke Academy | 5 |
| 02/22/24 @ Eastside | 5 |
| 04/22/24 @ Stratford Academy | 3 |
The result came thanks to Zach Simmons's shutout, as he gave up just a hit and racked up eight Ks. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts.
On the hitting side, Piedmont Academy let Ethan Barman and Mason Tumlin run wild. Barman got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and two RBI, while Tumlin scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-3. Piedmont Academy is undefeated when Barman posts two or more runs, but 2-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Alex Statham, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
They weren't the only ones working in the hit department: Piedmont Academy kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 12 hits in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Gatewood entered their tilt with Trinity Christian on Tuesday with three consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with four. They walked away with a 9-6 win over the Crusaders.
The team relied heavily on Jayden Moss, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. He also snagged a stolen base, marking his first of the season. Wilson Moore was another key player, scoring a run and stealing Two bases. while going 2-for-3.
Gatewood's victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-3. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.4 runs over those games. As for Piedmont Academy, their record now sits at 5-3.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Piedmont Academy hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Gatewood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.8 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Piedmont Academy came up short against Gatewood in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, falling 7-3. Can Piedmont Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
