Baseball Game Preview: Richton Rebels vs. Lake Hornets

Richton is 0-3 against Lake since April of 2024 but things could change on Friday. The Rebels will face off against the Hornets at 6:00 p.m. Richton has given up an average of 10 runs per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Richton easily dispatched Collins last Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Rebels fell just short of Lumberton by a score of 11-9 on Tuesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Rebels have suffered since March 18th.

Elisha Byrd

Runs

03/03/25 vs Heidelberg	3
04/15/25 vs Lumberton	2
03/03/25 vs Heidelberg	2
04/08/25 vs Collins	1
03/08/25 @ Enterprise	1

Tuck Fulmer and Elisha Byrd did some serious damage despite the final result: Fulmer scored three runs while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Byrd scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances. Byrd has become a key player for Richton: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 3-18 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Wyatt Cochran, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4.

Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Lake ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-7 victory over Southeast Lauderdale. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Hornets have posted since March 1st.

The team relied heavily on Jd Gibson, who scored three runs while going 4-for-5. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in doubles (two). Griffin Boles was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.

Lake's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-5. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Richton, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-19.

Richton suffered a grim 18-9 defeat to Lake in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Rebels avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.