Baseball Game Preview: Newberry Panthers vs. Oakleaf Knights

The Newberry Panthers will challenge the Oakleaf Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Newberry is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.3 runs per game this season.

Newberry barely beat Oak Hall the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Newberry blew past Oak Hall 9-2 on Monday. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Eagles recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.

Justin Moore looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.

Brycen Ochs

Runs

03/10/25 @ University Christian	3
03/31/25 vs Oak Hall	2
03/24/25 vs Crystal River	2
02/11/25 vs Lanier County	2
03/29/25 vs Trinity Christian Academy	1
+ 4 more games

On the hitting side, Newberry let Tavis Honeycutt and Brycen Ochs run wild. Honeycutt scored two runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-3, while Ochs scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. Ochs has become a key player for Newberry: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 5-6 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Brantley McCoy, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Oakleaf gave up the first runs last Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. They skirted past Ponte Vedra 6-4.

Jackson Clark looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Oakleaf saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Luis Mendoza, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. JP Espinosa was another, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Oakleaf's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-10. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Newberry, their win bumped their record up to 9-6.