Baseball Game Preview: Lake Wales Highlanders vs. Lakeland Christian Vikings

Lake Wales is 0-7 against Lakeland Christian since March of 2020 but things could change on Friday. The Lake Wales Highlanders will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against the Lakeland Christian Vikings at 7:00 p.m. Lake Wales will be strutting in after a win while Lakeland Christian will be coming in after a loss.

Lake Wales gave up the first runs on Thursday, but they didn't let that get them down. They walked away with a 10-5 victory over Auburndale. The Highlanders haven't had any issues with the Bloodhounds recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Melvin Bynes looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off one hit.

At the plate, Carter Finnell was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Keaton Kohl, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.

Meanwhile, Lakeland Christian unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-field advantage in their season opener. They fell just short of Jesuit by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday.

Lakeland Christian also got a good showing from Carson Martin, who struck out nine batters over 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits (and only one walk).

Lake Wales suffered a grim 8-1 defeat to Lakeland Christian in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can Lake Wales avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.