The Southern Tornadoes will head out on the road to face off against the Clay Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Southern came out on top against Alexander on Wednesday thanks in part to the team's impressive five-run sixth inning. The Tornadoes took their contest against the Spartans 10-6. The high-scoring effort was just what the Tornadoes needed considering they were shut out in their previous game.
Wyatt Smith spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned (and three unearned) runs on nine hits.
Greyson Duvall
| 04/16/26 @ Trimble | 3 |
| 04/09/26 @ Belpre | 3 |
| 03/30/26 vs Oak Hill | 3 |
| 05/13/26 @ Alexander | 2 |
| 04/02/26 @ Waterford | 2 |
| + 2 more games |
At the plate, Southern let Kase Nelson and Greyson Duvall run wild. Nelson went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double, while Duvall went 4-for-5 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Southern is 4-1 when Duvall posts two or more runs, but 6-10 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Jake Wickline, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
Southern was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. The last time their batting average was this high was back in April.
Meanwhile, Clay hadn't done well against Valley recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. The Panthers had just enough and edged out the Indians 7-6.
Clay is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Southern, their win bumped their record up to 10-11.
Southern was able to grind out a solid victory over Clay when the teams last played back in May of 2025, winning 4-0. Will the Tornadoes repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
