The Houston Hilltoppers will square off against the South Pontotoc Cougars at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Houston is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.3 runs per game this season.
Houston's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They blew past Columbus 16-0. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Hilltoppers.
Adam Smith
| 02/27/25 vs Columbus | 3 |
| 02/25/25 @ Calhoun City | 3 |
| 02/18/25 vs Calhoun City | 3 |
| 02/10/25 vs Itawamba Agricultural | 2 |
| 02/14/25 @ South Pontotoc | 1 |
Adam Smith was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-3. He also got three hits, which is notable because Houston is undefeated when he posts at least three hits, but 1-2 otherwise. Cason Moss was another key player, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Houston was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .533. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, South Pontotoc came up short against Choctaw County on Friday and fell 8-5. That's two games in a row now that the Cougars have lost by exactly three runs.
Cruze Lackey put in work no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-low in walks (zero). He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in hits (two).
Lackey wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Isaiah Stuto, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave Stuto a new career-high in hits (two).
This is the second loss in a row for South Pontotoc and nudges their season record down to 1-4. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.5 runs over those games. As for Houston, their win bumped their record up to 4-2.
South Pontotoc's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Houston has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .491. It's a different story for South Pontotoc, though, as they've only averaged .258. Will they be able to contain Houston's hitters?
Everything went Houston's way against South Pontotoc in their previous meeting two weeks ago, as Houston made off with a 7-0 victory. Will Houston repeat their success, or does South Pontotoc have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
