Memphis Central is 2-8 against Overton since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Warriors will venture away from home to square off against the Wolverines at 4:30 p.m. Memphis Central is coming into the game hot, having won their last seven games.
While Memphis Central's victory against Middle College wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Warriors sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 11-9 win over the Bulldogs on Thursday.
Joshua Thurmon was a standout: he scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2. Jayden Cole also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Overton won against Memphis East on Tuesday with 11 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. The Wolverines came out on top in a nail-biter against Bolton, sneaking past 11-10. The Wolverines haven't had any issues with the Wildcats recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Daiquan Dixon made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over 5.2 innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged two or more in each of the last three games he's played.
In other batting news, Sammy Kehrli and Julian Tallent did most of the damage at the plate: Kehrli scored a run and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Tallent scored a run and stole three bases while going 1-for-3. With that strong performance, Kehrli is now averaging an impressive 1.1 stolen bases per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Marquel Brooks, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4.
Memphis Central pushed their record up to 12-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.5 runs over those games. As for Overton, their record is now 10-3-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Memphis Central hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Overton struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Memphis Central couldn't quite finish off Overton when the teams last played back in May of 2024 and fell 12-10. Can the Warriors avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
