Baseball Game Preview: Southwestern Rebels vs. South Ripley Raiders

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Previous Games

05/10/24 - Home	10-0 W
04/15/24 - Away	6-1 W
05/12/23 - Away	6-0 W
04/17/23 - Home	15-0 W
05/13/22 - Away	11-0 W
+ 5 more games

Southwestern is 9-1 against South Ripley since May of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Rebels will be playing in front of their home fans against the Raiders at 5:00 p.m. Southwestern's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so South Ripley's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Southwestern fell victim to Jennings County and their airtight pitching crew on Saturday. They fell just short of the Panthers by a score of 1-0. The contest marked the first time this season in which the Rebels were not able to get on the board.

Southwestern saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Barron Welsh, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for South Ripley, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Switzerland County on Friday, sneaking past 4-3.

Mason McNew made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. McNew was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and one double.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ethan Schmaltz, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Gabe Stone, who earned one run and two stolen bases.

South Ripley pushed their record up to 2-1 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for Southwestern, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 4-4 record this season.

Southwestern took their victory against South Ripley in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 10-0 score. Will the Rebels repeat their success, or do the Raiders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.