The Ritchie County Rebels will challenge the Wahama White Falcons at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Ritchie County knows how to get runs on the board -- the team has finished with ten runs or more in their past four matches -- so hopefully Wahama likes a good challenge.
Ritchie County barely beat Magnolia the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Rebels blew past the Blue Eagles 12-2 on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Rebels in their matchups with the Blue Eagles: they've now won seven in a row.
Josh Cline spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on five hits and racked up six Ks.
On the hitting side, Tony McBrayer and Garrett Flesher did most of the damage at the plate: McBrayer went 1-for-3 with four stolen bases, three RBI, and one run, while Flesher got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most RBI McBrayer has posted since back in March. Zach Hartness was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Ritchie County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .562. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .552 or higher in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Wahama hadn't done well against Eastern recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The White Falcons sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-7 victory over the Eagles. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the White Falcons have posted since April 20, 2024.
Ritchie County pushed their record up to 8-18-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Wahama, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-13.
Ritchie County skirted past Wahama 13-12 in their previous meeting back in April. Will the Rebels repeat their success, or do the White Falcons have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
