The Lewisburg Patriots will face off against the Clarksville Wildcats at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Lewisburg 4, Clarksville 2.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Lewisburg is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Riverdale, who was ranked 23rd in their home state at the time (Lewisburg was ranked second). Lewisburg came out on top against Riverdale by a score of 18-14 on Wednesday. The Patriots' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Will Butler looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits.
Caden Nelson
| 03/12/25 vs Riverdale | 5 |
| 03/07/25 @ Northside | 1 |
| 03/03/25 vs Horn Lake | 1 |
| 03/01/25 vs Oxford | 1 |
| 02/27/25 vs Redan | 1 |
At the plate, Lewisburg got a massive performance out of Caden Nelson, who went 2-for-4 with five RBI, one triple, and one stolen base. Those five RBI gave Nelson a new career-high. Grant Walendzik was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
Lewisburg always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .550. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Clarksville's undefeated season came to an end after five games on Wednesday. They fell 7-3 to Lincoln. The match marked the Wildcats' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Porter Murff was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits.
On the hitting side, Kirk Weatherford was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Carter Hedrick, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Lewisburg is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-2 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. Having lost for the first time this season, Clarksville fell to 5-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lewisburg has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Clarksville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Lewisburg skirted past Clarksville 5-4 in their previous meeting back in March of 2015. Does Lewisburg have another victory up their sleeve, or will Clarksville turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
