The Ridgedale Rockets will challenge the Vanlue Wildcats at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with six consecutive losses for Ridgedale and 27 for Vanlue dating back to last season.
Ridgedale fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against Perry on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Commodores by a score of 7-6. That's two games in a row now that the Rockets have lost by just one run.
Brody Mawer put in work no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed 3.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Mawer was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Kolin Neville made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with five stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Ayden Salyer, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Arcadia hit Vanlue with a four-run second inning on Wednesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Wildcats lost 12-0 to the Redskins.
Toby Reed was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with four stolen bases, one run, and one double.
Ridgedale's record now sits at 1-8. As for Vanlue, their record is now 0-16.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Ridgedale has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Vanlue struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Ridgedale's way against Vanlue in their previous meeting back in March of 2018, as Ridgedale made off with a 25-1 win. Do the Rockets have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
