The Pickens Academy Pirates will venture away from home to face off against the Hubbertville Lions at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Pickens Academy comes in on four and Hubbertville on eight.
Pickens Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Pickens County on Thursday as they made off with a 26-0 win. The Pirates might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight games by seven runs or more this season.
Braden Banks was a major factor no matter where he played. He pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. What's more, he posted three RBI, the most he's had since back in March.
In other batting news, Pickens Academy let Aaron Kirk and Hudson Pennington run wild. Kirk went 3-for-4 with one home run, seven RBI, and two runs, while Pennington got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, four runs, and five RBI. The dominant performance also gave Kirk a new career-high in doubles (two). Another player making a difference was Will Garrett, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in both of his plate appearances.
Pickens Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .750. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Hubbertville ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Berry, sneaking past 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Lions have posted against the Wildcats since April 5, 2019.
Cole Brand made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out six batters over 4.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off one hit. Brand was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run. That triple marked the first that he hit this season.
Brand wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Tj Keeton, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4. Keeton also hit a double, marking his first of the season. Kane Rushing was another, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
Pickens Academy pushed their record up to 11-9 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.5 runs on average over those games. As for Hubbertville, their record is now 12-6.
