The Crab Orchard Trojans are taking a road trip to square off against the Pope County Pirates at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Crab Orchard is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.3 runs per game this season.
Tuesday just wasn't the day for Crab Orchard's offense. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Galatia/Thompsonville on Tuesday. The defeat continues a trend for the Trojans in their meetings with the Bearcats: they've now lost four in a row.
Meanwhile, Pope County earned a 4-1 victory over Gallatin County on Tuesday. That's two games straight that the Pirates have won by exactly three runs.
Tucker Nalley was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 11 over six innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Gavin Taylor was excellent, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4. He has become a key player for Pope County: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 0-3 otherwise.
The win made it two in a row for Pope County and bumps their season record up to 3-4. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Crab Orchard, they now also have a losing record of 3-4.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Crab Orchard has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Pope County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Crab Orchard couldn't quite finish off Pope County when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 9-7. Can the Trojans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
