The Gallatin County Hawks will face off against the Crab Orchard Trojans at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Gallatin County will be strutting in after a victory while Crab Orchard will be coming in after a defeat.
Gallatin County's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Norris City-Omaha-Enfield with a sharp 15-0 win. Considering the Hawks have won seven games by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Casen Steele made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Steele was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with two RBI, one run, and one double.
In other batting news, Gallatin County got a massive performance out of Grant Jackson, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. That's the most doubles Jackson has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Talan Smith, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Gallatin County kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Norris City-Omaha-Enfield only managed three hits.
Meanwhile, Crab Orchard was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Hamilton County.
Crab Orchard saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Carter Watts, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base. Cade Anderson also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Gallatin County's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-6. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.5 runs over those games. As for Crab Orchard, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-7.
Crab Orchard's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Gallatin County hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .316. It's a different story for Crab Orchard, though, as they've only averaged .217. Will they be able to contain Gallatin County's hitters?
Everything went Gallatin County's way against Crab Orchard when the teams last played last Tuesday, as Gallatin County made off with a 7-0 victory. Do the Hawks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Trojans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
