Baseball Game Preview: Southern Wells Raiders vs. Wes-Del Warriors

Southern Wells hasn't had much luck against Wes-Del recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Raiders will venture away from home to take on the Warriors at 10:00 a.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Southern Wells has three straight victories, Wes-Del has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Southern Wells proved they can win big on Thursday (they won by 18) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Northfield 6-5.

Jakob Gearheart was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Sebastian Couch, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.

Southern Wells always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .576. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .514 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.

Meanwhile, Wes-Del fell victim to Wapahani and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They came up short against the Raiders, falling 17-0.

Wes-Del saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Grayson Mealy, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one double.

Wes-Del's loss dropped their record down to 0-3. As for Southern Wells, their record is now 3-0.

Southern Wells' speedy runners might be the difference in Saturday's match. The Raiders have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 6 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Wes-Del, though, as they've been averaging only 0.3 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Southern Wells continue to outrun the ball?

Southern Wells might still be hurting after the 17-0 defeat they got from Wes-Del in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Can the Raiders avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.