The Loudon Redskins will venture away from home to challenge the Alcoa Tornadoes at 5:05 p.m. on Thursday. Loudon's hitters haven't had much luck over their past three games, but Thursday's matchup will give them a chance to turn things around.
Loudon managed to slip by Heritage the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Redskins lost 10-0 to the Mountaineers on Tuesday.
Loudon saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Logan Moore, who went 1-for-3 with one double.
Meanwhile, Alcoa waltzed into their contest on Tuesday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They put the hurt on the Roadrunners with a sharp 18-1 win. Considering the Tornadoes have won 15 matches by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Mason Martin made a splash no matter where he played. He struck out 11 batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has been consistent : he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, one run, and one double. Those two hits gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Josh Simpson, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. Cory Hatcher was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Alcoa always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .676. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Austin-East only posted an OBP of .278.
Alcoa's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 19-4. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.4 runs over those games. As for Loudon, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-15.
Loudon might still be hurting after the 7-1 loss they got from Alcoa in their previous meeting back in March. Can the Redskins avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
