The West Iredell Warriors will square off against the St. Stephens Indians at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. West Iredell hasn't scored more than two runs for four games straight, a trend the squad is eager to reverse.
East Lincoln hit West Iredell with a four-run first inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Warriors came up short against the Mustangs, falling 13-2.
West Iredell saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Taylor Stikeleather, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, while St. Stephens put up some runs on Wednesday, the same can't be said for Elyria. The Indians put the hurt on the Pioneers with a sharp 8-0 victory. Considering the Indians have won eight contests by more than six runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Anicka McFarland was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, firing off two home runs, three runs, and four RBI while going 2-for-3. That's the most home runs she has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Addison Smith, who went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run. Those two doubles gave her a new career-high. Brooke Hoyle was another key player, going 1-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
St. Stephens has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 10-11 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for West Iredell, their loss dropped their record down to 4-10.
West Iredell came up short against St. Stephens when the teams last played back in April of 2024, falling 8-5. Can the Warriors avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
