The Northwest Rankin Cougars will look to defend their home field on Tuesday against the Brandon Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. The pair are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Last Friday, Northwest Rankin beat Meridian by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 13-2. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Northwest Rankin.
Brady Saxton made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits (and only one walk). Saxton has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Saxton was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
In other pitching news, Dalton Pixley looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also didn't allow any walks).
Back at the plate, Northwest Rankin got a massive performance out of Caleb Brooks, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. Jackson Meehan was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs.
Meanwhile, Brandon can now show off ten landslide victories after their most recent game on Saturday. Everything went their way against Oak Grove as Brandon made off with an 11-2 win. Brandon's victory was all the more impressive since Oak Grove was averaging only 4.08 runs allowed on the season.
Walker Hooks spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on three hits and racked up seven Ks.
At the plate, Brandon saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cameron Keyes, who scored a run while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Jay McQueen, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Northwest Rankin has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-7 record this season. As for Brandon, they pushed their record up to 16-9 with that win, which was their ninth straight at home.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Northwest Rankin has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Brandon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
