The Simmons Blue Devils will face off against the Humphreys County Cowboys at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Simmons has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with six straight defeats, while Humphreys County will come in with seven straight wins.
On Friday, Simmons didn't have quite enough to beat Leland and fell 14-12. That's two games in a row now that the Blue Devils have lost by exactly two runs.
Simmons saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tyrone Buchanan, who scored four runs and stole six bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another was D Johnson, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Even though they lost, Simmons always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .562. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Humphreys County). They never let Yazoo City get on the board and left with a 19-0 victory on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Cowboys, who have now won seven contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Kuriston Smith was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Smith was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (three).
In other batting news, Xaylen Henderson was a standout: he scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-4. He is becoming a predictor of Humphreys County's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 3-4 when he doesn't). Javion Hughes was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Humphreys County pushed their record up to 8-4 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.8 runs over those games. As for Simmons, their loss dropped their record down to 0-4.
Simmons might still be hurting after the 16-0 defeat they got from Humphreys County in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Can Simmons avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
