The Whitwell Tigers will head out to face off against the Red Bank Lions at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Whitwell is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games.
The home team had come away the winner the last four times Whitwell and Van Buren County had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Tigers came out on top in a nail-biter against the Eagles on Tuesday, sneaking past 2-1. That's two games straight that the Tigers have won by just one run.
Jacob McCurry spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up 18 Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in nine consecutive appearances.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Red Bank). They put the hurt on East Ridge with a sharp 20-1 win on Tuesday. The Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by seven runs or more this season.
Jack Barkeloo and Tayveonn Bonds were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Barkeloo struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Bonds tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four). At the plate, Barkeloo scored four runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3, while Bonds scored a run while going 1-for-3. Barkeloo is becoming a predictor of Red Bank's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 8-12 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Sean Brune was a standout: he went a perfect 3-for-3 with two triples, three runs, and four RBI. He has become a key player for Red Bank: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 9-12 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Calvin Bean, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.
Red Bank always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .657. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
The victory got Red Bank back to even at 12-12. As for Whitwell, their record is now 15-7.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
