Baseball Game Preview: Van Wert Cougars vs. Kalida Wildcats

The Van Wert Cougars will challenge the Kalida Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Van Wert 3.8, Kalida 3.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Van Wert came into this matchup off a tough ten-run defeat last Monday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Shawnee by a score of 4-2 last Tuesday. The Cougars have struggled against the Indians recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.

Meanwhile, Kalida fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Leipsic on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Vikings by a score of 4-3. That's two games in a row now that the Wildcats have lost by just one run.

Kalida has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 13-5 record this season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Van Wert, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-6.

Van Wert couldn't quite get it done against Kalida when the teams last played back in May of 2023 as they fell 5-1. Can the Cougars avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.