Baseball Game Preview: Isabella Mustangs vs. Verbena Red Devils

The Isabella Mustangs will take on the Verbena Red Devils at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Verbena will be up against a hot Isabella team: the squad just extended their winning streak to four. Everything went the Mustangs' way against Indian Springs on Monday as they made off with a 14-2 victory. Considering the Mustangs have won nine contests by more than 11 runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.

Eli Boatwright

Runs

03/06/25 @ Dallas County	4
04/14/25 @ Indian Springs	3
03/28/25 vs Dallas County	3
04/08/25 @ Greene County	2
03/04/25 @ Central of Coosa County	2
+ 5 more games

Isabella got a massive performance out of Eli Boatwright, who scored three runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-5. Boatwright is becoming a predictor of the Mustangs' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 6-7 when he doesn't). Levi Wilkins was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-5.

Meanwhile, Verbena earned an 11-8 win over Comer on Monday. The victory continues a trend for the Red Devils in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won three in a row.

Verbena let Caleb Short and Jackson Brothers run wild. Short scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Brothers scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4. That's the most runs Short has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Sullivan, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.

Isabella pushed their record up to 12-7 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.7 runs over those games. As for Verbena, they now have a winning record of 12-11.

Verbena's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Isabella hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .324. It's a different story for Verbena, though, as they've only averaged .253. Will they be able to contain Isabella's hitters?

Isabella skirted past Verbena 7-5 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will the Mustangs repeat their success, or do the Red Devils have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.