Softball Game Preview: Pendleton County Wildcat vs. Luray Bulldogs

The Pendleton County Wildcat will venture away from home to challenge the Luray Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Neither of those teams managed to put together many runs in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.

Pendleton County is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Petersburg just ended the team's 21-game winning streak on Tuesday. They came up short against the Vikings, falling 12-2. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Wildcat, who until this game were averaging 4.04 runs allowed.

Avery Townsend

Stolen Base

04/22/25 vs Petersburg	2
04/21/25 vs Tucker County	3
04/14/25 @ East Hardy	4
04/12/25 @ Keyser	1

Avery Townsend was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games she's played.

Central Woodstock hit Luray with a six-run second inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Bulldogs lost 10-0 to the Falcons. The Bulldogs have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Luray's loss dropped their record down to 2-7. As for Pendleton County, they suffered their first home defeat, dropping their record down to 21-2.

Luray's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Pendleton County has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.7 hits per game. It's a different story for Luray, though, as they've been averaging 11 hits. Given Pendleton County's sizable advantage in that area, the Bulldogs will need to find a way to close that gap.

Pendleton County took their win against Luray in their previous meeting back in March by a conclusive 14-6 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcat since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.