The Anna-Jonesboro Wildcats will be staying on the road on Thursday to face off against the Massac County Patriots at 4:30 p.m. Anna-Jonesboro is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.
Anna-Jonesboro's hitters might be in the hot seat on Thursday considering what happened against Harrisburg last Monday. They fell 5-0 to the Bulldogs. That's two games in a row now that Anna-Jonesboro has lost by exactly five runs.
Meanwhile, with a playoff game on the line, Massac County rose to the challenge on Monday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Redbirds 6-5. The win was familiar territory for Massac County who now have 11 in a row.
Zach Maurer was a major factor no matter where he played. He tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Maurer has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. Maurer was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with a stolen base and two RBI.
In other batting news, Noah Melcher was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two runs and a triple. Another player making a difference was Luke Maurer, who went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and two RBI.
Anna-Jonesboro's defeat dropped their record down to 13-15-1. As for Massac County, they pushed their record up to 22-9 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Anna-Jonesboro has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Massac County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Anna-Jonesboro came up short against Massac County when the teams last played two weeks ago, falling 6-1. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Maurer, who tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Now that Anna-Jonesboro knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
