The Kings Mountain Mountaineers will take on the West Lincoln Rebels at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Kings Mountain is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.1 runs per game this season.
Kings Mountain's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Stuart W. Cramer 6-0. The victory continues a trend for the Mountaineers in their matchups with the Storm: they've now won four in a row.
Maddie Huffman made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 19 over seven innings pitched. Those 19 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Kayla McSwain
| 04/01/25 @ Stuart W. Cramer | 3 |
| 03/14/25 @ Ashbrook | 2 |
| 03/06/25 vs Stuart W. Cramer | 2 |
| 03/21/25 @ Huss | 1 |
| 03/18/25 vs South Point | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kayla McSwain, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in RBI (three). Another player making a difference was Avery Cruise, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Kings Mountain was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .394. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Stuart W. Cramer only posted a batting average of .000.
Meanwhile, West Lincoln fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Bunker Hill on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Bears by a score of 6-5.
Gabrielle Wright spent all 7.2 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five earned (and one unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up eight Ks.
On the hitting side, Quinlyn Avery was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with three RBI and one double. Melony Hoffman also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
West Lincoln's defeat dropped their record down to 8-7. As for Kings Mountain, their win bumped their record up to 9-2.
Wednesday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Kings Mountain hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .331. However, it's not like West Lincoln struggles in that department as they've averaged .333. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Kings Mountain skirted past West Lincoln 4-3 in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Do the Mountaineers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rebels turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
