Baseball Game Preview: Lapel Bulldogs vs. Speedway Sparkplugs

The Lapel Bulldogs will challenge the Speedway Sparkplugs at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Speedway took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Lapel, who comes in off a win.

Speedway will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Lapel extended their winning streak to three on Friday. The Bulldogs put the hurt on Park Tudor with a sharp 11-1 victory.

Kai Newman

Batters Struck Out

04/11/25 vs Park Tudor	9
04/01/25 @ Greenfield-Central	6
05/23/24 vs Wapahani	8
05/16/24 vs Hagerstown	7
05/11/24 vs Kokomo	8
05/04/24 vs Mississinewa	11

Kai Newman made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out nine batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in May of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on AJ Nunley, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Darl Gustin was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.

Lapel always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .516. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Park Tudor only posted an OBP of .208.

Meanwhile, Speedway didn't have quite enough to beat Monrovia on Thursday and fell 6-5. The Sparkplugs haven't had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.

Keller Socks was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.

Speedway's defeat dropped their record down to 0-2-1. As for Lapel, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.

Speedway's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lapel has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .455. It's a different story for Speedway, though, as they've only averaged .359. Will they be able to contain Lapel's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.