The West Bladen Knights will head out to square off against the Clinton Dark Horses at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. West Bladen will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
West Bladen is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past St. Pauls 13-3 on Friday. With that victory, the Knights brought their scoring average up to 6.9 runs per game.
West Bladen got a massive performance out of JT Hepler, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Tyler Lewis was another key player, scoring three runs while going 3-for-3.
Hepler wasn't the only one working in the hit department: West Bladen kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Clinton, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-4 win over Midway on Friday.
Jaxson Smith made a splash no matter where he played. He struck out seven batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Smith was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Smith wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Henry Bass, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Another was Cooper Sessoms, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
West Bladen's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-1. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.7 runs over those games. As for Clinton, their record now sits at 7-3.
Both West Bladen and Clinton just can't seem to miss. West Bladen has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.1 hits per game. However, it's not like Clinton struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.2 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
West Bladen came up short against Clinton in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, falling 6-2. Can West Bladen avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
