Softball Game Preview: Shenandoah Raiders vs. Union County Patriots

The Shenandoah Raiders will challenge the Union County Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Shenandoah will be looking to extend their current seven-game winning streak.

Shenandoah's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They put the hurt on Wes-Del with a sharp 10-0 victory. The Raiders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 games by ten runs or more this season.

Olivia Watson

Batters Struck Out

05/24/25 vs Wes-Del	13
05/22/25 vs Eastern Hancock	3
05/19/25 vs Rushville	11
05/17/25 @ Lapel	9
05/10/25 vs Tri	7
+ 23 more games

Olivia Watson made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 13 over six innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in April of 2024. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Aleyna Sharritts, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Reese Sprunger, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.

Shenandoah hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in four consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Union County had no trouble coming through when it counted. They were the clear victors by a 12-6 margin over Winchester Community on Monday.

Shenandoah pushed their record up to 16-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for Union County, the win got them back to even at 10-10.

Shenandoah might still be hurting after the 11-3 defeat they got from Union County in their previous matchup back in May of 2022. Can the Raiders avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.