Baseball Preview: New Lexington Panthers vs. Heath Bulldogs
New Lexington is 0-3 against Heath since May of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The New Lexington Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Heath Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (New Lexington: 2.3, Heath: 2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
New Lexington is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Amanda-Clearcreek just ended the team's nine-game winning streak on Monday. They fell just short of the Aces by a score of 6-4.
Meanwhile, Heath stacked a tenth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Monday. They were the clear victor by a 13-2 margin over Licking Valley. Heath's win was all the more impressive since Licking Valley was averaging only 3.35 runs allowed on the season.
Hayden Woodward was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He tossed five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Woodward has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in seven consecutive pitching appearances. Woodward was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jaiden Dansby, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and five RBI. Another player making a difference was Tannar Patterson, who scored four runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
New Lexington's loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 18-3. As for Heath, they pushed their record up to 19-2 with that victory, which was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season.
New Lexington couldn't quite finish off Heath in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 and fell 6-4. Can New Lexington avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
