The Batesburg-Leesville Panthers will head out on the road to challenge the Barnwell Warhorses at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Batesburg-Leesville is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.
It was a proper cat-fight when Batesburg-Leesville challenged Saluda on Tuesday. The Panthers came out on top against the Tigers by a score of 8-5. Winning may never get old, but the Panthers sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
The team relied heavily on Tanner Watkins, who went 3-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Reese Boehnke, who went 1-for-5 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Barnwell never got on the board in their matchup on Wednesday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Bamberg-Ehrhardt on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Red Raiders with a sharp 12-1 victory. Considering the Warhorses have won nine contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Cameron Austin was a major factor no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs.
In other batting news, Jax Mead and Tommy Reid did most of the damage at the plate: Mead got on base in two of his three plate appearances with two stolen bases and three runs, while Reid went 2-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.
Barnwell is on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 15 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Batesburg-Leesville, their record now sits at 14-4-1.
Batesburg-Leesville skirted past Barnwell 3-2 in their previous meeting last Monday. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
