It may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Nettleton ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They won by a run and slipped past the Hamilton Lions 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Tigers have posted since March 22, 2025.
Bailey Payne spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on five hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Nettleton saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Savannah Harlow, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases. That's the most stolen bases Harlow has posted since back in April of 2025. Anna Taylor also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.

Tigers
| 03/06/26 vs Hamilton | 2-1 |
| 03/05/26 @ Aberdeen | 19-0 |
| 03/03/26 vs Aberdeen | 21-0 |
The win (which was Nettleton's third in a row) raised their record to 10-3-1. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for Hamilton, with the loss, they broke their five-game winning streak and moved their record to 11-2.
Nettleton has already played their next matchup, a 4-2 defeat against DeSoto Central on the 9th. As for Hamilton, they will have a little extra prep time after the loss as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on New Site at 5:00 p.m. on the 17th. The Lions' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Royals have averaged an impressive 9.3 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps