The Tuscaloosa Academy Knights will head out on the road to take on the Oak Grove Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Tuscaloosa Academy sitting on five straight victories and Oak Grove on 16.
Tuscaloosa Academy's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Isabella 10-0.
Ellis Hamiter
| 03/20/25 vs Central | 3 |
| 03/12/25 vs Arab | 1 |
Ellis Hamiter was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Tuscaloosa Academy is 2-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 5-15 otherwise. Hamiter was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 3-for-4. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Mark Norris was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. Mills Turnipseed also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Tuscaloosa Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .517. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Isabella only posted an OBP of .263.
Fans were treated to a battle of the Tigers on Tuesday. Oak Grove was the clear victor by a 12-0 margin over Fairfield. Oak Grove might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten matchups by six runs or more this season.
The team relied heavily on Wiley Hicks, who scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last six games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Brawley Burns, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Oak Grove pushed their record up to 20-1 with the win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.9 runs over those games. As for Tuscaloosa Academy, their record is now 7-16.
Tuscaloosa Academy came up short against Oak Grove in their previous meeting back in February, falling 8-4. Can the Knights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
