The Mountain Home Tigers will take on the Hillcrest Knights at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Mountain Home has given up an average of 10.1 runs per game this season, but Saturday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
On Friday, Mountain Home needed a bit of extra time to put away Sugar-Salem. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Diggers, sneaking past 13-12. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Tigers have posted since April 4, 2024.
Mountain Home got a great performance from Tre Morse as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 14 over six innings pitched.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Andrew Chapman, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4. Rylan Luther was another key player, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Hillcrest not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since March 20, 2024. They were the clear victors by a 16-10 margin over Bishop Kelly.
Hillcrest let Alex Monroy and Mason Reichelt run wild. Monroy scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Reichelt got on base in four of his five plate appearances with four RBI and one run. What's more, Monroy posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Tyler Bodily, who scored three runs while going 3-for-5.
Hillcrest always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .611. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bishop Kelly only posted an OBP of .424.
Mountain Home is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 3-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.3 runs over those games. Hillcrest's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-2.
Hillcrest's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Mountain Home has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Hillcrest, though, as they've been averaging only 3 strikeouts. Will Mountain Home keep running through batters, or will Hillcrest buck the trend? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
