Baseball Game Preview: Brookhaven Panthers vs. Vancleave Bulldogs

For the second straight game, Brookhaven will face off against Vancleave. The Panthers will take on the Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Brookhaven heads in on the heels of a playoff contest on Friday. They took a 5-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of Vancleave. The Panthers have struggled against the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost meeting.

For Vancleave's part, Hunter Harper made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and not a single walk). Harper has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in ten consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one triple, one double, and one RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Aidan Tapp, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Conner Mitchell, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one run.

Vancleave has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 16 of their last 17 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 24-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Brookhaven, their loss dropped their record down to 11-13.