Baseball Game Preview: Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers vs. Murray County Central Rebels

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton is 2-8 against Murray County Central since April of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Panthers are taking a road trip to face off against the Rebels at 4:30 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Tuesday, then bounced right back against Lakeview on Thursday. The Panthers came out on top against the Lakers by a score of 11-6. The victory continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Lakers: they've now won six in a row.

Connor Lanoue was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching five innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. Lanoue was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-4. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton let Jackson Kruse and Taylor Squires run wild. Kruse scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Squires scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-5. Another player making a difference was Trevor Smith, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Murray County Central got themselves on the board against Mountain Lake/Comfrey on Thursday, but Mountain Lake/Comfrey never followed suit. They walked away with a 4-0 win over Mountain Lake/Comfrey. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Rebels.

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Murray County Central, their record is now 2-0.

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton came up short against Murray County Central in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, falling 14-11. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.