The Pinckneyville Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Cobden Appleknockers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
On Wednesday, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Pinckneyville had to settle for a 4-3 loss against Hamilton County. Pinckneyville has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Pinckneyville saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jacksen Weatherford, who went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucas Lietz, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Even though they lost, Pinckneyville didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with ten strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Cobden was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They suffered a rough 18-0 loss at the hands of Vienna.
Pinckneyville's defeat dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Cobden, their loss dropped their record down to 0-3.
Pinckneyville's speedy runners might be the difference in Thursday's match. Pinckneyville has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.7 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Cobden, though, as they've been averaging only 0.3 per game. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Pinckneyville continue to outrun the ball?
Pinckneyville skirted past Cobden 6-5 in their previous meeting back in March of 2018. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Cobden's John Russell, who struck out six batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off seven hits (and only one walk). Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be that much easier for Pinckneyville to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
