The Sulligent Blue Devils will head out on the road to square off against the Hackleburg Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Hackleburg will be up against a hot Sulligent squad: the team just extended their winning streak to six. Everything went the Blue Devils' way against South Lamar on Wednesday as they made off with an 11-5 victory.
Ella Wheeler made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Anna Claire Baughn was excellent, going 2-for-4 with one triple and two RBI. That triple marked the first that she hit this season. Another player making a difference was Audrey Lann, who scored two runs while getting on base in two of her four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Hackleburg got themselves on the board against Phillips on Tuesday, but Phillips never followed suit. They blew past the Bears 21-0. The Panthers' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Like Sulligent, Hackleburg also got a great game from a two-way player: Ellie Nichols. She tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Nichols was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, Saylor Cooper and Braylynn Pope did most of the damage at the plate: Cooper went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs, while Pope went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Carson Browning was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.
Sulligent pushed their record up to 9-4 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Hackleburg, their record is now 15-5.
Sulligent was able to grind out a solid win over Hackleburg in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 5-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Blue Devils since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
