Baseball Game Preview: Martin Luther King Cougars vs. West Philadelphia Speedboys

The Martin Luther King Cougars will look to take advantage of their home field for the first time this season as they take on the West Philadelphia Speedboys at 3:15 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

West Philadelphia will challenge a team with plenty of momentum: Martin Luther King extended their winning streak to six on Friday. The Cougars put the hurt on Prep Charter with a sharp 18-2 win.

Avery Jackson

Runs (Career)

04/04/25 @ Prep Charter	3
03/18/25 @ Franklin Learning Center	2
04/29/24 vs Jules E. Mastbaum Vo-Tech	2
04/08/24 vs Saul	2
03/19/24 @ Hill Freedman World Academy	2

Avery Jackson made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Jackson was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing four bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Justin Reynolds and Messiah Stokes did most of the damage at the plate: Reynolds scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Stokes scored a run while going 4-for-5. Those four hits gave Stokes a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ishmail Crawford-Mathis, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.

Meanwhile, West Philadelphia made easy work of Franklin Learning Center on Friday and carried off an 18-11 victory. The result was nothing new for the Speedboys, who have now won three contests by seven runs or more so far this season.

Martin Luther King pushed their record up to 3-0 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they've averaged 15.7 runs this season. As for West Philadelphia, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-1.

Everything went Martin Luther King's way against West Philadelphia in their previous meeting back in April of 2021, as Martin Luther King made off with a 16-1 victory. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Speedboys have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.