For the first time this season, Sweetwater will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup on Tuesday. They will be playing at home against the Clyde Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Sweetwater: 2.8, Clyde: 2.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Sweetwater is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They walked away with an 8-3 victory over Gainesville on Thursday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Mustangs.
Cash Barnes made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Barnes was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and one triple. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in hits (two).
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Braxton Bartee, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in hits (two). Another player making a difference was Jonah Rendon, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Sweetwater was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .381. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Clyde entered their tilt with Stamford on Saturday with four consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with five. They came out on top against Stamford by a score of 9-5.
Like Sweetwater, Clyde also got a great game from a two-way player: Jackson Poole. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching four innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. Poole has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Ethan Guzman was excellent, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one double. Landon Deal was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Clyde's win bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Sweetwater, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Sweetwater suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Clyde in their previous meeting back in February of 2023. Can Sweetwater avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
