The Floyd Central Jaguars are taking a road trip to take on the Knott County Central Patriots at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Floyd Central will be strutting in after a win while Knott County Central will be coming in after a defeat.
Floyd Central will bounce into Monday's contest after beating Johnson Central, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. The Jaguars blew past the Golden Eagles 14-7 on Saturday. The Jaguars might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by six runs or more this season.
Rowan County hit Knott County Central with a four-run sixth inning on Saturday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Patriots fell just short of the Vikings by a score of 9-7. The Patriots have struggled against the Vikings recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost meeting.
Mason Amburgey was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over 5.1 innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Amburgey wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Michael Parks, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. Jaden Amburgey was another, going 2-for-3 with one run.
Floyd Central has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-6 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Knott County Central, their loss dropped their record down to 10-7.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Floyd Central has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Knott County Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Floyd Central was able to grind out a solid win over Knott County Central in their previous matchup back in March, winning 10-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Jaguars since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
