The Grafton Bearcats will head out to take on the Elkins Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Grafton has five straight wins, Elkins has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Grafton will bounce into Thursday's matchup after beating Philip Barbour, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. The Bearcats blew past the Colts 7-1 last Tuesday. The Bearcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by six runs or more this season.
Lillie Crimm
| 04/01/25 vs Philip Barbour | 14 |
| 03/29/25 vs Berkeley Springs | 12 |
| 03/27/25 @ Fairmont Senior | 12 |
| 03/25/25 vs North Marion | 14 |
| 03/24/25 vs Lincoln | 13 |
| 03/22/25 vs Buckhannon-Upshur | 14 |
Lillie Crimm spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up 14 Ks. She has been consistent : she hasn't tossed less than 12 strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Chelsea Mauller, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. That stolen base marked the first that she snagged this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Shyann Trimble, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Elkins lost 9-1 to Lewis County on Tuesday. The contest marked the Tigers' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
Hailey Riffle was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run while going 2-for-2.
Grafton's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-2. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.5 runs over those games. As for Elkins, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.
Grafton took their victory against Elkins when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 16-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bearcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
