The Richmond Bobcats will square off against the Traip Rangers at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Richmond has 12 straight victories, Traip has 11 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
If Richmond beats Traip with 13 runs on Friday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. The Bobcats put the hurt on Buckfield with a sharp 13-3 win on Monday. The Bobcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten matchups by six runs or more this season.
Zander Steele was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Finn Foster, who went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and one run.
Richmond always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .618. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Tuesday just wasn't the day for Traip's offense. They came up short against Mountain Valley on Tuesday, falling 10-0.
Richmond pushed their record up to 12-0 with the victory, which was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games. As for Traip, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-10.
Traip's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Richmond hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .413. It's a different story for Traip, though, as they've only averaged .167. Will they be able to contain Richmond's hitters?
Richmond came out on top in a nail-biter against Traip in their previous matchup back in May of 2017, sneaking past 6-4. Do the Bobcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rangers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
