The Midway Raiders will face off against the Richlands Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Midway lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Harnett Central, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Thursday's match. Midway put the hurt on Harnett Central with a sharp 8-1 victory on Thursday. That looming 8-1 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Raiders yet this season.
Sarah Autry made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off seven hits. Autry was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Samantha Carter
| 03/13/25 vs Harnett Central | 2 |
| 02/28/25 vs Cleveland | 1 |
| 04/26/24 vs Red Springs | 1 |
| 04/09/24 vs West Bladen | 1 |
In other batting news, Samantha Carter was excellent, going 1-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Those two RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Mollie Bass, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Midway was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Richlands, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Clinton a 12-0 shutout on Friday. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by six runs or more this season.
Like Midway, Richlands also got a great game from a two-way player: Addi Andrews. Throwing, Andrews struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Makenzie Goin tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than one walk any time she's pitched this season. At the plate, Andrews scored a run while going 1-for-4, while Goin scored three runs while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on LeNayah Jackson, who scored two runs while going 4-for-4. Jordan Meece was another key player, scoring two runs while getting on base in two of her four plate appearances.
Richlands pushed their record up to 6-3 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for Midway, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 3-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Midway has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 12.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Richlands struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Midway skirted past Richlands 1-0 in their previous matchup back in May of 2018. Will Midway repeat their success, or does Richlands have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
