The J.R. Tucker Tigers will take on the Hermitage Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Having struggled with four defeats in a row, J.R. Tucker turned things around against John Marshall on Tuesday. They never let the Justices get on the board and left with an 8-0 victory.
Yamal Ferguson was excellent, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and two doubles. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Walker Perkins, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Hermitage, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They were the clear victors by a 12-2 margin over Henrico on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now won six in a row.
Conner Wharton was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 14 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). Wharton was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
In other batting news, Ryder Baggett and Adrian Hernandez did most of the damage at the plate: Baggett went a perfect 2-for-2 with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI, while Hernandez went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, two doubles, and two RBI. Hayden Harris was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Hermitage was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Hermitage's victory bumped their record up to 6-13. As for J.R. Tucker, their win bumped their record up to 5-14.
Everything went J.R. Tucker's way against Hermitage when the teams last played on May 2nd, as J.R. Tucker made off with an 11-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
