Baseball Game Preview: Birch Run Panthers vs. Lakeville Falcons

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Previous 6 Games

05/24/17 - Home	6-0 W
05/24/17 - Home	10-0 W
04/29/16 - Away	5-3 W
04/29/16 - Away	3-2 W
05/27/15 - Home	6-1 W
05/27/15 - Home	7-5 W

Birch Run has gone a perfect 6-0 against Lakeville recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. The Panthers will look to defend their home field against the Falcons at 4:00 p.m. Birch Run has given up an average of 7.5 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Birch Run will face Lakeville after dropping another heartbreaker against Millington on Saturday, which marked the second time in a row the team's come within 2.1 of beating them. The Panthers took a 12-7 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Cardinals. Surprisingly, this marked the Panthers' fourth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.

Meanwhile, Lakeville came tearing into Wednesday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They never let the Dragons get on the board and left with a 19-0 victory. The Falcons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by six runs or more this season.

Gage Smith made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up a single hit in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with three RBI and two runs.

In other batting news, Lakeville let Bryceon Oliver and Avery Clous run wild. Oliver went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI, while Clous went 1-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Hunter Engberg, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.

Birch Run moved to 5-6 with that loss, which also ended their three-game winning streak. As for Lakeville, their win bumped their record up to 7-1.

Birch Run took their victory against Lakeville in their previous meeting back in May of 2017 by a conclusive 6-0 score. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Falcons have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.