The Pickens Academy Pirates will take on the Berry Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
On Saturday, Pickens Academy needed a bit of extra time to put away Marion County. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Red Raiders, sneaking past 10-9.
Braden Banks
| 03/01/25 vs Marion County | 7 |
| 02/25/25 @ Berry | 3 |
| 02/16/24 vs Autauga Academy | 2 |
| 02/22/25 vs Lynn | 1 |
| 02/14/25 vs West Blocton | 1 |
Braden Banks made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over four innings pitched. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing Two bases. while going 1-for-4. He is becoming a predictor of Pickens Academy's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 0-3 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Pickens Academy let Hudson Pennington and Ace Gregory run wild. Pennington scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances, while Gregory scored two runs and stole a base while going 4-for-6. Gregory has become a key player for Pickens Academy: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-2 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Bentley Allen, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Pickens Academy kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, while Berry put up some runs on Monday, the same can't be said for Vina. Berry put the hurt on Vina with a sharp 10-0 victory. With that win, the Wildcats brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Max Westbrook was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing Four bases. while going 2-for-3. Those runs marked the first that he scored this season. Shaun Waltrip was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
The victory got Berry back to even at 3-3. As for Pickens Academy, the win also got them back to even at 3-3.
Pickens Academy was able to grind out a solid victory over Berry in their previous matchup on Tuesday, winning 6-3. Will Pickens Academy repeat their success, or does Berry have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
