The Piketon Redstreaks will head out on the road to square off against the Paint Valley Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Piketon has four straight victories, Paint Valley has eight straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Piketon had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 11-run drubbing they dealt Huntington on Monday. The Redstreaks put the hurt on the Huntsmen with a sharp 12-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Redstreaks, who have now won 11 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Reese Shanks
| 05/05/25 vs Huntington | 5 |
| 04/26/24 vs Adena | 2 |
| 04/16/25 @ Huntington | 1 |
| 03/22/25 vs Chesapeake | 1 |
| 03/22/25 vs Chesapeake | 1 |
The team relied heavily on Reese Shanks, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBI, two runs, and one double. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Renee Hill, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs and one stolen base.
Piketon was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .440. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .310 or higher in 11 consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Paint Valley challenged McClain on Tuesday. The Bearcats took a 6-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Tigers.
Kyla Littler was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run. Another player making a difference was Sophia Stauffer, who got on base in two of her four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.
Piketon pushed their record up to 18-2 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Paint Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-14.
Paint Valley's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Piketon has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 12.8 hits per game. It's a different story for Paint Valley, though, as they've been averaging 8.7 hits. Given Piketon's sizable advantage in that area, the Bearcats will need to find a way to close that gap.
Piketon took their victory against Paint Valley when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Redstreaks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
