Baseball Recap: Paw Paw Takes a Loss

Paw Paw extended their losing streak to six on Saturday, dropping them down to 1-7. They lost 17-1 to the Clay-Battelle Cee Bees. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Cee Bees this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 18-3 on Saturday.

Paw Paw saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tomy Santos, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI. Those hits were Santos' first of the season.

As for Clay-Battelle, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 8-5. The result was nothing new for the Cee Bees, who have now won seven games by eight runs or more so far this season.

On Clay-Battelle's side, Cam Mercer was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave Mercer a new career-high in strikeouts (four). He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. He has become a key player for Clay-Battelle: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 4-5 otherwise.

In other batting news, Clay-Battelle got a massive performance out of Cayden Strosnider, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three doubles, and three RBI. That's the most hits Strosnider has posted since back in April of 2025. Another player making a difference was Parker Bane, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double.

Paw Paw and Clay-Battelle should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps West Virginia Rankings. The Pirates will face off against Lighthouse Christian Academy at 4:30 p.m. on the 27th with a big rank advantage (107 vs. 223). Meanwhile, Clay-Battelle (ranked 86th) will meet Turkeyfoot Valley Area (ranked 630th) at 5:00 p.m. on Monday.