Washington hasn't had much luck against Atchison recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Wildcats will host the Phoenix at 4:00 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Thursday.
Washington barely beat Wyandotte the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Wildcats put the hurt on the Bulldogs with a sharp 17-7 win on Tuesday. The Wildcats haven't had any issues with the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Washington got a massive performance out of Leland Estes, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. That's the most runs Estes has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Chris Reno, who scored a run and stole four bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Washington was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. They are 3-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Atchison strolled into their game last Tuesday with an undefeated record and they left with the same. Everything went their way against Wyandotte as they made off with a 14-1 win. Considering the Phoenix have won five contests by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Brody Barnes made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Barnes was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Yogi Purdy, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. Leighton Boldridge was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Atchison pushed their record up to 7-0-2 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Washington, their victory bumped their record up to 4-9.
Washington suffered a grim 13-2 defeat to Atchison in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Can the Wildcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
