The Richlands Blue Tornado will take on the Marion Scarlet Hurricanes at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Monday, Richlands didn't have quite enough to beat Virginia High and fell 5-4.
Connor McCracken was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He pitched five innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. Those four hits allowed gave him a new career-low. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That stolen base was his first of the season.
In other batting news, Max Herndon was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one triple and two RBI. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Marion). They put the hurt on Northwood with a sharp 13-3 win on Monday. The Scarlet Hurricanes haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive victory against them.
Sean Stuart and Mason Pugh did most of the damage at the plate: Stuart went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI, while Pugh went 2-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Pugh is becoming a predictor of Marion's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 3-1 (and 0-8-1 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Brody Whitt, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Marion always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Marion's win bumped their record up to 3-9-1. As for Richlands, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-9.
Richlands skirted past Marion 5-4 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Do the Blue Tornado have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Scarlet Hurricanes turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
