The Varnum Whippets will venture away from home to take on the Dewar Dragons at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Varnum is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Tupelo just ended the team's 14-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Tigers by a score of 4-3.
Aiden Cooper was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He tossed six innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Cooper was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Cooper wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Payton Romines, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Dewar put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Stroud an 18-0 shutout. Considering the Dragons have won 20 contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Varnum, Dewar also got a great game from a two-way player: S. Yaeger. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Yaeger has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and one double. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on P. Kilhoffer, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in March. L. Hankins was another key player, going 3-for-4 with four RBI and one run.
Dewar always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .657. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Stroud only posted an OBP of .368.
Dewar pushed their record up to 25-0 with the win, which was their 39th straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Varnum, their defeat dropped their record down to 20-6.
Varnum suffered a grim 21-0 defeat to Dewar in their previous meeting back in March of 2022. Can the Whippets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
