Baseball Game Preview: Manchester Blue Devils vs. Hardaway Hawks

The Manchester Blue Devils will head out to face off against the Hardaway Hawks at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Manchester hasn't scored more than two runs for five games straight, a trend the team is eager to reverse.

The home team had come away the winner the last five times Manchester and Bowdon had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. Manchester came up short against Bowdon on Thursday, falling 13-1.

Manchester saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jayden Hodo, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Qua Buckley also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.

Meanwhile, Hardaway got the win against Sumter County on Friday by a conclusive 17-6. The Hawks haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.

Tristan Jackson was incredible, going 1-for-2 with four stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Christian Eleby, who scored a run and stole Four bases. while going 2-for-4.

Hardaway always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .641. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive matches.

Manchester's loss dropped their record down to 1-9-1. As for Hardaway, their record is now 9-4.

Manchester couldn't quite finish off Hardaway when the teams last played back in February of 2022 and fell 7-5. Can Manchester avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.