The Knoxville Central Bobcats will head out on the road to square off against the Union County Patriots at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Knoxville Central's pitching crew has only allowed 3.1 runs per game this season, so Union County's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Last Friday, it was a hard-fought match, but Knoxville Central had to settle for a 5-4 defeat against Hardin Valley Academy. Knoxville Central has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Knoxville Central got a good showing from Andrew Bivens, who pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off three hits. Bivens has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Andrew Hill and Nick Riordan stepped up to the plate in a big way. Hill got on base in all four of his plate appearances with a stolen base and a double, while Riordan scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of David Grimes, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3.
Meanwhile, Union County got themselves on the board against Scott on Monday, but Scott never followed suit. They came out on top against the Highlanders by a score of 3-0. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Union County.
Kaden Stinnett made a splash no matter where he played. He kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over five innings pitched. Stinnett was also big at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a triple and an RBI.
Stinnett wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Brady Stinnett, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
Knoxville Central's loss dropped their record down to 11-6. As for Union County, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a massive bump to their 7-9 record this season.
Knoxville Central took their victory against Union County in their previous meeting back in April of 2021 by a conclusive 12-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for Knoxville Central since the squad 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
