Baseball Game Preview: Marion Wildcats vs. Richland County Tigers

The Marion Wildcats will take on the Richland County Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Marion will be strutting in after a win while Richland County will be coming in after a loss.

Marion took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Centralia, sneaking past 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Wildcats have posted since April 24th.

Meanwhile, Richland County was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They came up short against Salem, falling 13-5.

Gavin Root made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one double. Cooper Hires was another key player, going 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

Richland County's loss dropped their record down to 10-16. As for Marion, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-8 record this season.

Everything went Marion's way against Richland County when the teams last played back in May of 2023, as Marion made off with a 14-0 win. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.