The Durant Cougars will square off against the Plant City Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Durant's pitching crew has only allowed 3.6 runs per game this season, so Plant City's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Durant blew Newsome out of the water the last time the pair played, but on Thursday Newsome got their revenge. Durant fell just short of Newsome by a score of 4-2. Having soared to a lofty 13 runs in the game before, the Cougars couldn't push the score so high this time.
Durant got a good showing from Dylan Hotz, who pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the first time Hotz hasn't allowed a single hit since back in February.
On the hitting side, Durant saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jack Brooks, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Plant City owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Saturday. They came out on top against Alonso by a score of 4-0. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Raiders.
The result came thanks to Jacob Carbaugh's shutout, as he gave up just three hits.
Plant City's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-9. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Durant, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Durant has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Plant City struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Durant took their victory against Plant City in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 6-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Durant since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
