The Wes-Del Warriors will take on the Monroe Central Golden Bears at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Wes-Del has five straight wins, Monroe Central has ten straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Wes-Del barely beat Southern Wells the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Warriors' pitcher stepped up to hand the Raiders a 6-0 shutout on Wednesday. The Warriors might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by six runs or more this season.
Bailee West
| 04/23/25 vs Southern Wells | 12 |
| 04/21/25 @ Union City | 12 |
| 04/16/25 vs Southwood | 7 |
| 04/15/25 vs Daleville | 15 |
The result came thanks to Bailee West's shutout, as she gave up just three hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Marley Bertram, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. That home run marked the first that she has launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Tori Ward, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Monroe Central fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Cowan on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took an 8-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Blackhawks.
Laura Walker was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Wes-Del pushed their record up to 6-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs over those games. As for Monroe Central, their loss dropped their record down to 0-8.
Monroe Central's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Wes-Del hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .386. It's a different story for Monroe Central, though, as they've only averaged .184. Will they be able to contain Wes-Del's hitters?
Wes-Del was able to grind out a solid victory over Monroe Central in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 16-11. Do the Warriors have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Golden Bears turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
