The King's Academy Lions will face off against the Leonard Lancers at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing is sure in King's Academy's favor as the team sits on seven straight wins at home while Leonard has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road.
On Monday, it was close, but King's Academy sidestepped Forest Hill for a 7-6 victory.
Preston Applebaum looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Dalton Needle, who scored two runs while going 3-for-3. Briggs Harris was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Leonard had to endure a 12-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They put the hurt on Lake Worth Christian with a sharp 7-1 win on Friday. The Lancers not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since February 11th.
Shawn Lopez was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Bryan Quiroz-Rivera was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Juan Pablo Llorente, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3.
Leonard was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .481. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lake Worth Christian only posted a batting average of .045.
King's Academy is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-4 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Leonard, their win bumped their record up to 3-12.
Leonard's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: King's Academy hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .332. It's a different story for Leonard, though, as they've only averaged .252. Will they be able to contain King's Academy's hitters?
Everything went King's Academy's way against Leonard in their previous meeting back in February of 2020, as King's Academy made off with a 12-1 victory. Will the Lions repeat their success, or do the Lancers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
