The Draughn Wildcats are taking a road trip to challenge the Watauga Pioneers at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Draughn has five straight wins, Watauga has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Draughn is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victor by a 21-4 margin over Avery County on Tuesday. Considering the Wildcats have won three matchups by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Draughn got a massive performance out of Lindsey Hensley, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Cydnee Deal was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base.
Draughn lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since back in March of 2024.
Meanwhile, Tuesday just wasn't the day for Watauga's offense. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of South Caldwell on Tuesday.
Draughn pushed their record up to 5-0 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.3 runs over those games. As for Watauga, their loss dropped their record down to 2-4.
Watauga's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday. Draughn has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Watauga, though, as they've been averaging only 4.2 strikeouts. Will Draughn keep running through batters, or will Watauga buck the trend?
Everything went Draughn's way against Watauga in their previous meeting back in March of 2022, as Draughn made off with a 15-5 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Draughn since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
