Baseball Game Preview: Ripley Vikings vs. Wayne Pioneers

The Ripley Vikings will venture away from home to square off against the Wayne Pioneers at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Ripley's pitching crew has only allowed 3.3 runs per game this season, so Wayne's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Ripley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of West Virginia's top teams: Spring Valley, who was ranked ninth at the time (Ripley was ranked sixth). The Vikings took a 9-5 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Timberwolves on Friday. The Vikings' defeat signaled the end of their six-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Wayne was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 4-3 heartbreaker at the hands of Point Pleasant. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last six times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Wayne saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jacob Thompson, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI and one double.

Wayne's defeat dropped their record down to 4-17. As for Ripley, their loss dropped their record down to 13-4.