The Ava Bears will head out on the road to face off against the Houston Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Ava is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Missouri's top teams: Thayer, who was ranked 15th at the time (Ava was ranked 25th). The Bears fell just short of the Bobcats by a score of 2-1 on Monday.
Houston never got on the board in their matchup on Friday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Cabool on Monday. They were the clear victors by an 18-3 margin over the Bulldogs. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by six runs or more this season.
Lilly Kincaid and Ember Green made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Kincaid pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Meanwhile, Green pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, she posted four strikeouts, the most she's had since back in March. At the plate, Kincaid went 3-for-4 with five RBI, three doubles, and one stolen base, while Green went 3-for-4 with one triple and two RBI.
In other batting news, Gracyn McNiell was a standout: she got on base in four of her five plate appearances with four runs, two triples, and one stolen base. That's the most runs she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Claire Benoist, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and one double.
Ava's defeat dropped their record down to 10-6. As for Houston, their win bumped their record up to 10-2.
Everything went Ava's way against Houston when the teams last played back in March, as Ava made off with a 14-2 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
