Baseball Game Preview: Amory Panthers vs. Caledonia Cavaliers

The Amory Panthers will square off against the Caledonia Cavaliers at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Caledonia will be up against a hot Amory squad: the team just extended their winning streak to six. Amory was the clear victor by a 9-1 margin over Hatley on Friday. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since April 4, 2022, but that streak is no more.

Meanwhile, Caledonia entered their tilt with Greenwood on Friday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They blew past the Bulldogs 22-4.

Jackson Dawkins was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2. Caledonia is undefeated when Dawkins posts two or more runs, but 6-7 otherwise.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Garrett Holloman, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-2. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Ethan Barclay was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-1.

Caledonia hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most four strikeouts in four consecutive contests.

Amory pushed their record up to 12-6 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.2 runs on average over those games. As for Caledonia, their win bumped their record up to 11-7.

Everything went Amory's way against Caledonia in their previous meeting on March 1st, as Amory made off with a 10-4 victory. Does Amory have another victory up their sleeve, or will Caledonia turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.