The North Montgomery Chargin' Chargers are taking a road trip to square off against the Benton Central Bison at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (North Montgomery has four straight wins, Benton Central has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Thursday, North Montgomery was able to grind out a solid victory over Lebanon, taking the game 8-5.
Keaton Brown and Aiden Ambriz-Cruz made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Brown tossed three innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Meanwhile, Ambriz-Cruz tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Brown has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. At the plate, Brown went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI, while Ambriz-Cruz went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. North Montgomery is 11-1 when Ambriz-Cruz posts two or more runs, but 1-4 otherwise.
Nolyn Brown
| 05/08/25 @ Lebanon | 3 |
| 05/06/25 vs Lebanon | 2 |
| 05/02/25 vs Parke Heritage | 2 |
| 04/21/25 vs Covington | 2 |
| 04/10/25 @ Fountain Central | 2 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nolyn Brown, who went 3-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Tucker Hinds was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with one run.
North Montgomery kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Benton Central fell victim to Twin Lakes and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They lost 10-0 to the Indians.
Benton Central's loss dropped their record down to 5-14. As for North Montgomery, their record now sits at 12-5.
Benton Central's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: North Montgomery hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .333. It's a different story for Benton Central, though, as they've only averaged .221. Will they be able to contain North Montgomery's hitters?
North Montgomery took their win against Benton Central when the teams last played back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 7-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Chargin' Chargers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
