Baseball Game Preview: James River Midlothian Rapids vs. Godwin Eagles

The James River Midlothian Rapids will face off against the Godwin Eagles on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with James River Midlothian sitting on five straight victories and Godwin on six.

James River Midlothian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Matoaca 8-6. Eight seems to be a good number for the Rapids as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Meanwhile, Godwin made easy work of Midlothian on Tuesday and carried off a 10-2 victory. The Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by six runs or more this season.

Luke Smyers spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on three hits and racked up six Ks. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in ten consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Matthew Hartsfield, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases and three runs. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Eli Macturk, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one run and one RBI.

Godwin's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-4. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for James River Midlothian, their win bumped their record up to 17-5.

James River Midlothian came out on top in a nail-biter against Godwin in their previous matchup back in March of 2022, sneaking past 2-1. Do the Rapids have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Eagles turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.