The Fairmont Senior Polar Bears will take on the Grafton Bearcats at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Grafton will take on a team with plenty of momentum: Fairmont Senior extended their winning streak to five on Thursday. The Polar Bears were the clear victors by a 16-4 margin over Doddridge County. The result was nothing new for the Polar Bears, who have now won six contests by ten runs or more so far this season.
Noah Pethel made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Pethel was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Matt Masters, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Brock Martin was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double.
Fairmont Senior always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .622. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last match, Grafton made sure to put some runs up on the board against Elkins on Thursday. The Bearcats put the hurt on the Tigers with a sharp 13-3 win. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Bearcats as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
Grafton got a massive performance out of Carter Gillespie, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases and four runs. Gillespie is becoming a predictor of the Bearcats' success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 5-2 (and 7-9 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Chace Kinsey, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
Fairmont Senior pushed their record up to 12-2 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Grafton, they now have a winning record of 12-11.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Fairmont Senior has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Grafton struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Fairmont Senior took their win against Grafton in their previous meeting back in March by a conclusive 19-2 score. Will the Polar Bears repeat their success, or do the Bearcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
