Baseball Game Preview: Bentworth Bearcats vs. McGuffey Highlanders

The Bentworth Bearcats are taking a road trip to challenge the McGuffey Highlanders at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Bentworth will be strutting in after a victory while McGuffey will be coming in after a defeat.

Bentworth will bounce into Thursday's game after beating California, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Bearcats had just enough and edged out the Trojans 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Bearcats have posted since April 29, 2024.

Sam Wade made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Wade was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Ben Hayes

Hits

04/15/25 vs California	4
04/09/25 @ Chartiers-Houston	3
03/27/25 @ Waynesburg Central	3
03/25/25 vs Frazier	2
04/09/25 @ Chartiers-Houston	1
+ 2 more games

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ben Hayes, who scored a run and stole a base while going 4-for-4. Bentworth is 2-1 when Hayes posts three or more hits, but 1-5 otherwise. Jacob Cavanaugh also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, McGuffey unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of Brownsville by a score of 8-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Highlanders have suffered since May 7, 2024.

Sam Stout was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs while going 2-for-2. Preston Hornak was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.

McGuffey's defeat dropped their record down to 7-4-1. As for Bentworth, their record is now 3-6.

Bentworth might still be hurting after the 12-5 loss they got from McGuffey in their previous matchup back in March of 2017. Can the Bearcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.