Ritchie County hasn't had much luck against Wahama recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Rebels will be playing in front of their home fans against the White Falcons at 6:00 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Ritchie County is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of West Virginia's top teams: St. Marys, who was ranked 13th at the time (Ritchie County was ranked 17th). The Rebels never let the Blue Devils get on the board and left with a 2-0 win on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Rebels have posted since April 8, 2024.
The result came thanks to Rocklyn Marcum's shutout, as she gave up just three hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Ritchie County's win was truly a team effort as two different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ava Satterfield, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Saturday Wahama sidestepped Harrison County for a 5-3 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the White Falcons.
Elissa Hoffman spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three runs (all of which were unearned) on six hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kalyn Christian, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Payton Staats, who scored a run and stole three bases while going 2-for-3.
Wahama pushed their record up to 12-2 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.1 runs over those games. As for Ritchie County, their win bumped their record up to 5-1.
Wahama's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. Ritchie County has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Wahama, though, as they've been averaging only 3.4 strikeouts. Will Ritchie County keep running through batters, or will the White Falcons buck the trend?
Everything went Ritchie County's way against Wahama when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Ritchie County made off with a 10-3 victory. 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.
