The West Bladen Knights will head out on the road to challenge the Fairmont Golden Tornadoes at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. West Bladen's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Fairmont's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
West Bladen will bounce into Tuesday's game after beating Midway, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Knights never let the Raiders get on the board and left with a 5-0 victory on Thursday.
Not much got past Brady Durden, who gave up just two hits to keep Midway off the board. Durden has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Hunter Hester was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-2. Tyler Lewis was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
West Bladen was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .391. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Midway only posted a batting average of .042.
Meanwhile, Fairmont posted their closest win since March 19th on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past St. Pauls 5-3. The win was some much needed relief for the Golden Tornadoes as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Mynkoda Smith spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three runs (all of which were unearned) on four hits and racked up 12 Ks.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Nehemiah Chavis, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. He is becoming a predictor of Fairmont's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 5-2 (and 4-6 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Kenley Callahan, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
West Bladen pushed their record up to 9-4 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Fairmont, they now have a winning record of 9-8.
Fairmont's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: West Bladen hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .316. It's a different story for Fairmont, though, as they've only averaged .235. Will they be able to contain West Bladen's hitters?
West Bladen took their victory against Fairmont in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 9-3 score. Do the Knights have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Golden Tornadoes turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
