Baseball Game Preview: Weir Red Riders vs. Buckeye Local Panthers

The Weir Red Riders will take on the Buckeye Local Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Weir is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7 runs per game this season.

On Thursday, Weir needed a bit of extra time to put away Oak Glen. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Golden Bears 6-5. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since May 8, 2023, but that streak is no more.

Evan Kaczmarek made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over 7.1 innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Cayden Braswell

Stolen Base

05/01/25 @ Oak Glen	2
04/18/25 @ Ravenswood	2
03/25/25 vs Brooke	2
04/28/25 @ Beaver Local	1
04/26/25 @ John Marshall	1
+ 2 more games

In other batting news, Weir got a big performance out of Cayden Braswell, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run. Braswell has become a key player for the Red Riders: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 7-13 otherwise. Liam Williamson was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one triple and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Buckeye Local was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They fell 6-3 to Martins Ferry.

Weir's win bumped their record up to 9-14. As for Buckeye Local, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-12.