The West Washington Senators will challenge the Paoli Rams at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in West Washington's favor as the squad sits on five straight wins at home while Paoli has been banged up by 12 consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.
West Washington is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 15 runs on Monday, they were much more limited against Orleans on Wednesday. They fell 5-2 to the Bulldogs. The contest marked the Senators' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Macy Lowery made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Paoli). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Cannelton a 20-0 shutout on Tuesday. The win was some much needed relief for the Rams as it spelled an end to their five-game losing streak.
Jayda Smith was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run.
In other batting news, Paoli got a massive performance out of Keeley Scott, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. Those three runs gave Scott a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Chloe Smith, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Paoli was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .531. They are 2-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Having lost for the first time this season, West Washington fell to 9-1. As for Paoli, their victory bumped their record up to 2-7.
Paoli's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: West Washington has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.3 hits per game. It's a different story for Paoli, though, as they've been averaging 13.8 hits. Given West Washington's sizable advantage in that area, the Rams will need to find a way to close that gap.
West Washington took their win against Paoli when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 11-0 score. Will the Senators repeat their success, or do the Rams have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
