The Cottondale Hornets are on the road again on Tuesday to play the Poplar Springs Atomics at 5:00 p.m. Cottondale will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.
Last Thursday, Cottondale came up short against Holmes County and fell 11-7.
Cale Barnes was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3. Alex Bellamy was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, with a playoff game on the line, Poplar Springs rose to the challenge on Monday. They walked away with a 22-18 win over the Tigers. Poplar Springs' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Landen Gammons was incredible, going 4-for-6 with five RBI, two runs, and a double. The team also got some help courtesy of Jake Blackmon, who scored four runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Cottondale has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 16-8 record this season. As for Poplar Springs, their victory bumped their record up to 12-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cottondale has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Poplar Springs struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Cottondale took their win against Poplar Springs when the teams last played back in April of 2022 by a conclusive 15-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Cottondale 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
