vs
| 05/07/24 - Away | 2-1 W |
| 04/20/23 - Away | 5-0 W |
| 04/21/22 - Home | 10-0 W |
| 05/04/21 - Away | 6-1 W |
| 04/27/21 - Home | 8-3 W |
| + 5 more games |
Western Branch is a perfect 10-0 against Oscar Smith since March of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Bruins will host the Tigers at 5:45 p.m. Western Branch's pitching crew has only allowed 3.1 runs per game this season, so Oscar Smith's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Western Branch is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to ten runs on Tuesday, they were much more limited against Hickory on Thursday. They fell just short of the Hawks by a score of 2-1. Surprisingly, this marked the Bruins' fourth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Ian Taylor spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on six hits.
On the hitting side, Western Branch saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Markel Smith, who went 1-for-3 with one run.
Meanwhile, while Oscar Smith put up some runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Indian River. The Tigers blew past the Braves 7-0. Considering the Tigers have won five matchups by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Donte Brooks Jr. was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April.
Oscar Smith kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Indian River only managed one hit.
Oscar Smith is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 9-7 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Western Branch, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-5.
Western Branch came out on top in a nail-biter against Oscar Smith in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. Do the Bruins have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Tigers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
