Baseball Game Preview: Richlands Blue Tornado vs. Graham G-Men

The Richlands Blue Tornado are taking a road trip to challenge the Graham G-Men at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Richlands has given up an average of 8.8 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Richlands' last matchup with Lebanon could've gone either way, but unfortunately the same can't be said for the pair's matchup on Tuesday. The Blue Tornado lost 14-8 to the Pioneers. The Blue Tornado haven't had much luck with the Pioneers recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.

Parker Ryder and Parker Spencer stepped up to the plate in a big way. Ryder scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Spencer scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Riley Perkins also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Graham, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Bluefield on Wednesday as they made off with an 11-1 win. The game marked the G-Men's most dominant victory of the season so far.

Grady Mullins was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out seven over six innings pitched. Mullins was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-4. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (two).

In other batting news, Tristan Shupe was a standout: he scored a run and stole three bases. Aidan Miller was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.

Graham was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Graham's record is now 3-5. As for Richlands, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 3-5.

Everything went Richlands' way against Graham in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as Richlands made off with a 9-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Blue Tornado since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.