The North Pike Jaguars will look to defend their home field  on Thursday against the Brandon Bulldogs at 6:30  p.m. North Pike is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.9  runs per game this season.
 Last Thursday, North Pike narrowly escaped with a  win as the  team sidled past South Jones  7-6. The  victory made it back-to-back  wins for North Pike.
  Anna Claire Weber spent all seven innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered  just two earned  (and four unearned) runs on eight hits and racked up seven Ks.
 On the hitting side,  Kate Clements was  excellent,  going 1-for-3 with a  home run and two  runs. The team also got some help courtesy of  Ellyn Williams, who  went 1-for-2 with three  RBI and a  double.
 Meanwhile, Monday just wasn't the day for Brandon's offense. They wound up with the same score they had in their last game (10-0), but sadly  the team found themselves on the wrong side of the score this time. The  defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for them in their matchups with Northwest Rankin: they've now lost six in a row.
 North Pike has  been performing  well recently as they've  won three of their last four contests,  which provided a nice bump to their 7-9 record  this season. As for Brandon, their loss dropped their record down to 9-9.
 The pitchers for both teams better look sharp  on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. North Pike has been swiping bases left and right this season,  having  averaged 3  stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Brandon struggles in that department as   they've been averaging 3.2. The only question left is which team can snag more.
 Everything went North Pike's way against Brandon when the teams last played  back in February as North Pike made off with  a  13-2 victory. Will North Pike repeat their success,  or does  Brandon have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps