The North Pontotoc Vikings will take on the Louisville Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with North Pontotoc sitting on six straight victories and Louisville on three.
North Pontotoc can't be too worried about heading out to take on Louisville: they just beat Myrtle at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. The Vikings came out on top against the Hawks by a score of 10-7 on Tuesday. North Pontotoc's win was all the more impressive since the Hawks were averaging only 2.91 runs allowed on the season.
Lacie Simmons
| 04/15/25 @ Myrtle | 1 |
| 04/08/25 @ South Pontotoc | 1 |
| 03/28/25 @ Oxford | 1 |
| 03/25/25 @ Byhalia | 1 |
| 03/13/25 vs Biggersville | 1 |
| 03/13/25 @ Booneville | 1 |
North Pontotoc got a massive performance out of Lacie Simmons, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. Simmons has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last six times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Sadie Rhea, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one triple.
North Pontotoc hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Louisville duked it out with Starkville Christian on Monday. The Wildcats blew past the Cougars 20-10. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 games by seven runs or more this season.
Sakenya Glenn and Sahayley Yarbrough did most of the damage at the plate: Glenn scored three runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-4, while Yarbrough scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance also gave Yarbrough a new career-high in doubles (two). Another player making a difference was Kaylee Parks, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4.
North Pontotoc pushed their record up to 15-8 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Louisville, their victory bumped their record up to 13-9-1.
Thursday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. North Pontotoc has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .506. However, it's not like Louisville struggles in that department as they've averaged .666. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
North Pontotoc came out on top in a nail-biter against Louisville when the teams last played back in April of 2015, sneaking past 6-4. Do the Vikings have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
