Softball Game Preview: Midland Trail Patriots vs. Summers County Bobcats

Midland Trail has gone a perfect 7-0 against Summers County recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Patriots will be playing at home against the Bobcats at 5:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Midland Trail has five straight victories, Summers County has 19 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

On Wednesday, Midland Trail needed a bit of extra time to put away Greenbrier West. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Cavaliers 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Patriots have posted since May 8, 2024.

Madison Rader

Batters Struck Out

04/23/25 vs Greenbrier West	11
04/22/25 vs Sherman	10
04/18/25 @ James Monroe	6
04/18/25 @ James Monroe	8
04/15/25 @ Wyoming East	8
+ 5 more games

Madison Rader spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on six hits and racked up 11 Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in ten consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Midland Trail saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nevaeh Hall, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base and one run.

Summers County might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 16-8 to Mount View, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.

Samantha Cales made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 3-for-3 with four stolen bases, two triples, and three runs. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 1.1 stolen bases per game. Another player making a difference was Haley Ratliff, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with four stolen bases and two runs.

Midland Trail's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-9. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Summers County, their loss dropped their record down to 0-11.

Midland Trail took their win against Summers County when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 18-1 score. Will the Patriots repeat their success, or do the Bobcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.