The Grafton Bearcats will venture away from home to square off against the East Fairmont Bees at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Grafton is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last five games.
Grafton will bounce into Monday's game after beating Philip Barbour, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. The Bearcats were the clear victors by a 7-1 margin over the Colts on Tuesday. The Bearcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by six runs or more this season.
Lillie Crimm
| 04/01/25 vs Philip Barbour | 14 |
| 03/29/25 vs Berkeley Springs | 12 |
| 03/27/25 @ Fairmont Senior | 12 |
| 03/25/25 vs North Marion | 14 |
| 03/24/25 vs Lincoln | 13 |
| 03/22/25 vs Buckhannon-Upshur | 14 |
Lillie Crimm spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up 14 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than 12 strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Chelsea Mauller was excellent, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. That stolen base marked the first that she snagged this season. Another player making a difference was Shyann Trimble, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask East Fairmont). They blew past Braxton County 14-8 on Wednesday.
Reese Van Zant made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out seven over four innings pitched. Van Zant was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in four of her six plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gracie Snyder, who went 2-for-5 with five RBI and two doubles. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. Raegynn Silvis was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.
Grafton's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-2. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.5 runs over those games. As for East Fairmont, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-7.
East Fairmont's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. Grafton has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 12.5 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for East Fairmont, though, as they've been averaging only 3.8 strikeouts. Will Grafton keep running through batters, or will the Bees buck the trend?
Grafton took their victory against East Fairmont when the teams last played back in March by a conclusive 12-5 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bearcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
