Baseball Game Preview: West Stanly Colts vs. Richmond Raiders

The West Stanly Colts will venture away from home to face off against the Richmond Raiders at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. West Stanly's pitching crew has only allowed 2.7 runs per game this season, so Richmond's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

West Stanly is headed into the match having just suffered their biggest defeat since March 21, 2024 on Friday. They came up short against Hickory Ridge, falling 8-2. The Colts' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last contest, Richmond made sure to put some runs up on the board against Scotland on Thursday. The Raiders put the hurt on the Fighting Scots with a sharp 11-4 win. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Raiders' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.

Caden Nolan was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out nine batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits (and only one walk). Nolan was also big at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Those four hits gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Landon Taylor was a standout: he went 3-for-5 with one run and one RBI. William Phifer was another key player, going 3-for-5 with two runs and one RBI.

Richmond kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.

Richmond has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a massive bump to their 13-7 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.7 runs over those games. As for West Stanly, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-6.

West Stanly was able to grind out a solid win over Richmond in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, winning 9-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Colts since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.