The Tuttle Tigers will head out to square off against the McLoud Redskins at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Tuttle has four straight wins, McLoud has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Saturday, Tuttle made easy work of Oologah and carried off a 10-1 victory. The result was nothing new for the Tigers, who have now won ten matchups by seven runs or more so far this season.
Jackson Johnson made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one hit in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Tuttle got a massive performance out of Hudson Heathco, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Heathco also hit a double, marking his first of the season. Traylon Barnes was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run and three RBI.
Tuttle lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now launched at least two home runs in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, McLoud fell victim to North Rock Creek and their airtight pitching crew on Friday. They lost 13-0 to the Cougars.
McLoud also got a good showing from Eli Raines, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, McLoud saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kaleb Fox, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple.
Tuttle's record now sits at 13-1. As for McLoud, their loss dropped their record down to 1-8.
McLoud's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Tuttle has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .483. It's a different story for McLoud, though, as they've only averaged .341. Will they be able to contain Tuttle's hitters?
Everything went Tuttle's way against McLoud in their previous matchup back in April of 2016, as Tuttle made off with a 9-1 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
